Politics

• Friday, April 17th 2015 - 03:39 UTC

  Mercosur must exhaust efforts to advance in trade talks with EU, insists Uruguay

  

  Mercosur must exhaust efforts with determination to advance in trade negotiations with the European Union, said Uruguay's Deputy foreign minister Jose Luis Cancela confirming the country's commitment with the block, but also demanding 'sincerity' in addressing the challenges and agreeing on an international insertion strategy.

• Friday, April 17th 2015 - 03:26 UTC

  Former IMF director and Spanish minister detained accused of fraud

  

  The former director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Spaniard Rodrigo Rato, has been detained by police in Madrid. Rato, who has also been Economy Minister during Spanish President José María Aznar’s administration, is accused of money laundering and fraud.

• Friday, April 17th 2015 - 03:16 UTC

  World Medical Association supports growing moves for plain tobacco packaging

  

  The World Medical Association has supported the increasing number of countries planning to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products, including Australia and France. This week it joined the Norwegian Medical Association in supporting proposals to introduce plain packaging in Norway.

• Friday, April 17th 2015 - 03:08 UTC

  Sir Simon steps down after five years as FCO Permanent Under-Secretary

  

  The Permanent Under-Secretary (PUS) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Simon Fraser, will step down after five years in the role and leave HM Diplomatic Service at the end of July 2015. He was appointed PUS, taking over from Sir Peter Ricketts, in August 2010.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:57 UTC

  British team recovers U$S50m trove of silver coins from sunken ship south of St Helena

  

  A British-led team has recovered a $50m trove of silver coins that has lain on the seabed since the steamship carrying them from Bombay to England was sunk in 1942. The SS City of Cairo was torpedoed 772km south of St Helena by a German U-boat and sank to 5,150m. The 100 tons of coins, recovered in the deepest salvage operation in history, belonged to HM Treasury.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:45 UTC

  EU parliament Armenia resolution “mutilates history and law” blasts Turkey

  

  Turkey’s Foreign Ministry slammed the European Parliament’s decision to adopt a resolution that urges all EU member states and Turkey to recognize the 1915 events as ‘genocide’ and accused the resolution of mutilating history and law, Daily Sabah reports.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:43 UTC

  Santos orders resumption of bombing raids after FARC attack kills 10 soldiers

  

  Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has ordered the resumption of bombing raids against FARC rebels after an attack he blamed on the group killed 10 soldiers, a move that will intensify combat after efforts to cool tensions.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:34 UTC

  British embassy in Montevideo awards scholarships to young football players

  

  A football player doesn’t only depend on their sporting attributes on the pitch, but also needs to have the skills to be competitive out of the stadium. For those who start playing football, English can be the key to access to new opportunities, or to put it another way, it can be like a Goal to the Future.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:12 UTC

  Brazil questions Argentina's approach to China in military procurement

  

  Brazil's minister of defense Jacques Wagner questioned Argentina's approach to China regarding military procurement, but discarded any conflict with Buenos Aires, since the country is a 'strategic and important partner' of Brazil. Apparently the issue was brought up by Jacques when he visited his counterpart Agustín Rossi in Buenos Aires last week.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:07 UTC

  Petrobras corruption probe encroaching President Rousseff; party's treasurer arrested

  

  A widening investigation into alleged corruption at Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras took a step closer to President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday when police arrested the ruling party’s treasurer, João Vaccari Neto, who has been charged with receiving “irregular donations” for the Workers’ Party, or PT, from some of the oil company’s suppliers.