Politics

Friday, May 17th 2013 - 06:46 UTC
Argentine whitewash bill turning into ugly electoral debate

Argentina’s whitewashing bill or more modestly ‘tax amnesty’ has joined the political debate of the coming October mid-term elections. The tax revenue bureau or AFIP confirmed taxpayers’ “legitimate externalization right” “will not be affected” even in the “hypothetical case that the opposition manages to rally a majority parliamentary stance” after October’s legislative elections.
Friday, May 17th 2013 - 06:40 UTC
Pope Francis condemned the global ‘cult of money’ and the ‘new idols’

Pope Francis has condemned the global “cult of money” and urged world leaders to do more for the poor. In his first major speech on finance and the economy, the pontiff said money should be made to “serve” people, not to “rule” them.
Friday, May 17th 2013 - 06:33 UTC
Bolivian congress confirms President Morales can run for re-re-election

Bolivia’s Lower House passed a bill this week which would allow President Evo Morales to run for a third mandate in next years’ elections. The bill passed in an 84 to 33 vote, following a decision by the country’s Constitutional Court — whose judges were appointed by Morales — saying the re-re-election bill does not violate Bolivia’s Constitution.
Friday, May 17th 2013 - 06:26 UTC
Uruguay’s José Mujica lauds booming Brazil ties

By Jude Webber in Montevideo - The Financial Times has published a piece on Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and his view on the future and his government’s policy towards two powerful neighbors, Argentina and Brazil.
Friday, May 17th 2013 - 06:05 UTC
Criticized Peruvian foreign minister steps down and is replaced by a female

Peru's Foreign minister has resigned, the government said on Wednesday, days after he was criticized for contributing to a diplomatic spat with Venezuela. The office of President Ollanta Humala said in a statement that Rafael Roncagliolo resigned ”strictly because of health reasons”.
Friday, May 17th 2013 - 02:38 UTC
Prince Harry and PM Cameron launch in New York global campaign to promote Britain

HRH Prince Harry and UK Prime Minister David Cameron this week kicked off a global tour promoting Britain as a world class destination for trade, tourism, investment and education as part of the GREAT Britain campaign.
Thursday, May 16th 2013 - 22:18 UTC
OAS praises Ecuador ‘civic spirit’ and suggests regulating use of public resources for electoral purposes

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) received this week the oral report of the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) that accompanied the process of general elections in Ecuador on February 17, which was presented by the Chief of Mission Rafael Alburquerque, who stressed the “great civic spirit” of Ecuadorians.
Thursday, May 16th 2013 - 19:39 UTC
Falklands’ lawmakers meet Chaco human rights group following formal Argentine request

On request from a group of human rights representatives from Chaco, Argentina, Falkland Islands lawmakers met and listened to their views on a number of issues resulting from the 1982 war. The meeting followed a formal request from the group directly to the Falklands elected Legislative Assembly.
Thursday, May 16th 2013 - 19:23 UTC
Females take the top three seats in the new Ecuadorean National Assembly

The newly elected Ecuadorean National Assembly sat for the first time this week and next week will take the oath of office to President Rafael Correa, who was re-elected by a landslide last February. The legislative with 137 members has a majority of members from Correa’s party Alliance Country Movement, and was elected for a four-year mandate.
Thursday, May 16th 2013 - 19:17 UTC
US will continue to be a country of immigrants according to census projections

A wave of immigrants is set to become the principal driver of US population growth within 30 years, surpassing growth from births for the first time since the mid-1800's, federal government estimates show.