Politics

• Wednesday, October 31st 2018 - 08:49 UTC

  Foreign Office plans major embassy and staff expansion ahead of post-Brexit

  

  Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced on Tuesday announced a major expansion of Britain's diplomatic network around the world, five months before it leaves the European Union. For the first time, people from outside the civil service will be eligible to become ambassadors as the Foreign Office seeks to swell its numbers by almost 1,000.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2018 - 08:43 UTC

  Brazil's unemployment down to 11.9% in the third quarter

  

  Brazil's unemployment rate fell for the sixth straight month in September, according to government data released on Tuesday, two days after far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro was elected president on a promise of sweeping change. The jobless rate -- measured in sliding three-month intervals -- was 11.9% for the period from July to September, down from 12.1% from June to August.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2018 - 08:26 UTC

  Chile will reward families to have more children to counter falling birthrate and the aging population

  

  In an attempt to tackle the country's decreasing birthrate, President Sebastián Piñera has announced a new law designed to motivate Chileans to have more children. In recent years, Chile has witnessed a fall in the number of newborns arriving each year.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2018 - 08:17 UTC

  Foreign Secretary tells Parliament Falklands will remain part of UK, even after Brexit

  

  Britain's foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt told Parliament that the Falkland Islands will remain part of the UK for years to come despite Argentina's plans, after Brexit, to enhance dialogue with the Islanders and hopefully with a positive result for its claim over the Malvinas.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2018 - 17:21 UTC

  Argentine deputies to seek foreign minister's impeachment over statement regarding Falklanders

  

  Argentine FPV legislators filed a motion to impeach Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie for failing to fulfill his duties as a public official when he called for the Falkland Islanders to be respected and to generate a bond with them “as two peoples” who live in the South Atlantic.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2018 - 11:00 UTC

  Bolsonaro pledges to help the Venezuelan people end the dictatorship but through peaceful means

  

  The president elect of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro in his first television interview as president elect said it was necessary to solve the problem of the Venezuela dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro, but underlined “there will be no intervention in Caracas, it will be through peaceful means”.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2018 - 10:50 UTC

  Uruguay sends congratulations message to the Brazilian people and the election of Bolsonaro

  

  Finally on Monday the Uruguayan government sent an official message congratulating the Brazilian people for their civic display on Sunday which elected president Jair Bolsonaro. Likewise the Uruguayan government confirmed its willingness to continue working and developing the bilateral relation with its large neighbor and strongest economy in Latin America.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2018 - 08:50 UTC

  Future economy minister says Mercosur not a priority for Bolsonaro's Brazil

  

  Mercosur is not a priority, and Argentina is not a priority for the new government of Brazil, the priority is to trade with all the world. The strong statement came from Paulo Guedes, signaled as the next Finance minister of president elect Jair Bolsonaro's cabinet and a crucial player in that team since the newly elected leader has admitted a limited knowledge of economics.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2018 - 08:40 UTC

  UK Budget time: “Austerity coming to an end” announces Chancellor Hammond

  

  Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has said the “era of austerity is finally coming to an end”, in his last Budget before Brexit. He spent a windfall from better public finances on more money for universal credit and bringing forward planned income tax cuts by a year.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2018 - 08:03 UTC

  End of an era: powerful Angela Merkel announces her exit from the world stage

  

  Marking the end of an era, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's announced on Monday her last term in office. The dominant figure in German and European politics for more than a decade said she will step down as party leader of her Christian Democratic Union, CDU, in December and not seek reelection as chancellor in 2021.