Politics

• Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 09:34 UTC

  Mujica's book rekindles Brazilian scandal involving Lula da Silva

  

  Uruguay's president Jose Mujica has now denied alleged statements collected in a book about his life written by two journalists, that he personally presented last Sunday in Buenos Aires and in which there is a mention to former president Lula da Silva and the 'mensalao', one of Brazil's largest corruption scandals involving monthly payments to have bills passed by Congress.

• Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 09:23 UTC

  PM Cameron confirms economic policy: names Osborne first secretary of state

  

  Prime Minister David Cameron reappointed George Osborne as his finance minister on Friday and gave him a bigger cabinet role after Britain's economic recovery helped their party to an unexpectedly big election victory.

• Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 09:06 UTC

  Tory majority government, but looking to Scottish independentists' landslide

  

  Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives won a stunning victory in Britain's election on Friday, which cut short the careers of his top three rivals and put the country's European Union future in doubt.

• Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 08:57 UTC

  Nicola Sturgeon 'tectonic plates of Scottish politics” promises to fight austerity imposed by Tory government

  

  Scottish nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon on Friday held out the possibility of a new independence referendum – but not immediately – after her party's crushing victory north of the border in a British national election.

• Saturday, May 9th 2015 - 08:37 UTC

  Tourism boom in Cuba: Europeans want to enjoy the island “before the Americans arrive”

  

  The Cuban government says it has prepared for a surge in tourist arrivals with an airport expansion plan and new luxury hotels under construction in Havana and popular beach resorts like Varadero. But according to tour operators, it is already getting difficult to find available hotel rooms or reserve tables at popular restaurants, especially during the high season.

• Friday, May 8th 2015 - 10:54 UTC

  China superpower? It relies on imports for energy, iron and...water (for food)

  

  Among the mountain of statistics produced by China every year, there is one impossible to ignore: according to the Ministry of Land and Resources 61.5% of China's ground water is too dangerous even to touch, which means that along with being unsuitable for agriculture or drinking this water is unfit for any human contact.

• Friday, May 8th 2015 - 07:57 UTC

  Argentine government denies 'persecution' of Supreme Court Judges but insists in pouncing on Justice Fayt

  

  The Argentine government denied on Thursday it was 'persecuting' Supreme Court Justices but kept the pressure on by insisting the process to re-elect Chief Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti was full of irregularities and members could have committed 'ideological falseness'.

• Friday, May 8th 2015 - 07:48 UTC

  Brazil's central bank to continue increasing rate, with inflation on target at the end of 2016

  

  Brazil's central bank expects inflation to run above the official target this year and next, despite months of monetary tightening, signaling policymakers could maintain an aggressive pace of interest-rate hikes to lower stubborn prices. In the minutes of its April 29 rate-setting meeting, the bank said it would remain vigilant to ease persistently high inflation.

• Friday, May 8th 2015 - 07:37 UTC

  Argentina denies as 'inexact' any embargo on embassy bank funds in Belgium

  

  The Argentine government in a late release on Thursday strongly denied an 'inexact information' related to alleged embargos by speculative funds (or vulture funds) on bank accounts from the Argentine embassy and its staff, in Belgium, and said that the attempts to freeze 'embassy funds' are but a new extortion attempt and a clear procedure abuse which could be sanctioned by Belgian tribunals.

• Friday, May 8th 2015 - 06:59 UTC

  Conservatives on course to a major victory, as SNP wipes out Labor in Scotland

  

  The Conservatives are on course to be the largest party with David Cameron hopeful of gaining a majority in the UK general election. Labor faces being wiped out by the SNP in Scotland and is failing to make the gains it needs in England to stand a chance of forming a government.