International

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 06:27 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez delaying Mercosur/EU discussions for a free trade agreement

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez downplayed immediate discussions for the trade and cooperation agreement between EU and Mercosur arguing that the South American block should elaborate and discuss new proposals to be presented to the Europe Union on the last quarter of this year.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 06:08 UTC

  Cuba takes CELAC chair on Monday; expectations regarding Havana’s proposals

  

  The first summit of the Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States, CELAC, the brain child of president Hugo Chavez, paid tribute to the Venezuelan leader who is recovering from cancer surgery in Havana, Cuba, the country that on Monday will be receiving the group’s chair from Chile.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 06:02 UTC

  Hedge funds insist in New York court Argentina must pay defaulted bonds

  

  Hedge fund investors who refused to join two sovereign debt restructurings by Argentina urged a US court in New York to force the country to pay them.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 05:50 UTC

  Santiago Declaration with no explicit reference to the Falklands’ dispute

  

  The final document of the EU/CELAC summit in Chile which gathered representatives from 61 countries made a strong commitment to promote trade and investment between the two blocks as well as combat protectionism, but there was no explicit mention to the Falklands’ dispute with Argentina.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 05:26 UTC

  Argentina/Iran ‘Truth Commission’ to resolve 1994 bombing of Jewish centre in Buenos Aires

  

  “Memorandum of Understanding” including the creation of a “Truth Commission” between the governments of Argentina and the Islamic Republic of Iran and intended to resolve the 1994 terrorist bombing of the Argentine-Jewish Community Centre AMIA in Buenos Aires was signed on Sunday according to the Argentine Presidential web site.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 04:53 UTC

  The Times poll shows slim majority support UK exit from the European Union

  

  Britain’s future in the European Union would rest on a knife-edge if a referendum was held immediately, according to a research poll carried out for The Times: 40% of voters back an UK exit while 37% want to keep ties with Brussels and 23% do not know.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 04:49 UTC

  Spanish secessionism makes first move: Catalonia is “a sovereign political and legal entity”

  

  Catalonia regional parliament has approved a declaration proclaiming the Catalan people a “sovereign political and legal entity”. The motion also calls for a referendum to be held to allow Catalans their say on independence.

• Monday, January 28th 2013 - 04:22 UTC

  US Republican congressman visits the Falklands starting Monday

  

  United States Republican Congressman Thomas Petri will visit the Falkland Islands from Monday 28 January 28 to February 2 accompanied by a group of congressional staff members.

• Saturday, January 26th 2013 - 21:31 UTC

  IMF: Latam growth estimates contained because of Brazil’s poor performance

  

  The IMF downgraded growth estimates for Latinamerica in 2013 from 3.9% to 3.6%, mainly because of an anticipated poor showing of the region’s largest economy Brazil, according to the Fund’s latest report on the world economy prospects.

• Saturday, January 26th 2013 - 21:23 UTC

  Lagarde surprised at the ‘very slow’ recovery of the Brazilian economy

  

  IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she is unsure about Brazil’s economic outlook despite the country’s official estimate of 3.5% growth this year, since recovery is “very slow” as the 1% of 2012 showed.