Politics

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 09:29 UTC

  Piñera escalates conflict: proposes jailing those involved in occupying schools

  

  Student leaders, the opposition and several judges expressed outrage this week after Chilean President Sebastián Piñera proposed on Sunday to reform the Penal Code to impose harsher punishments on those involved in the occupation of schools and universities, newspaper La Tercera reported.

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 09:23 UTC

  Abbas takes off on diplomatic charm offensive in support of Palestinian state

  

  Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas flew to Europe on Tuesday to kick off a week-long tour which will also take him to Latin America to shore up support for his UN membership bid.

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 09:13 UTC

  How the Argentine military to save a collapsing regime, planned the Malvinas invasion war

  

  Juan B Yoffre, an Argentine journalist, businessman and politician (he was Intelligence chief for two years with former President Carlos Menem) has written a book “1982” on the Falklands/Malvinas conflict where he reveals how the idea of the military invasion was secretly elaborated and implemented.

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 09:08 UTC

  Chavez says he’s fine but photos and television give a different picture

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez seems to be fully active recovering the initiative impetus of his pre-chemotherapy treatment. On Monday he was on national television in a meeting with a business delegation from Byelorussia. Last Saturday he was seen giving away home appliances and in the evening chairing a cabinet meeting.

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 08:44 UTC

  Chilean Army invests 15.8m dollars in upgrading US made Howitzers

  

  A Chilean plan for modernizing and upgrading its defense forces is under way with one of the first major contracts going to BAE Systems for the supply and refurbishment of 12 U.S.-made M109A5 howitzers. The 15.8 million dollars contract has been implemented for the Chilean Government through a US foreign military sales contract.

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 08:18 UTC

  Brazil with the best universities in Latam; Sao Paulo top of the list

  

  Brazil’s Sao Paulo University, USP, ranks as the top higher education institution in Latin America according to a list published by QS, and which includes universities from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.

• Wednesday, October 5th 2011 - 08:12 UTC

  Argentina highest court rejects French request to extradite “the blond angel of death”

  

  The Argentine Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a French request to extradite former navy captain Alfredo Astiz, who was convicted in absentia in Europe for killing two French nuns during the 1976-1983 “Dirty War.”

• Tuesday, October 4th 2011 - 20:24 UTC

  Brazil and EU call for concerted action to face current international situation

  

  Brazil and the European Union must take concerted action to calm markets fearful of global contagion spreading from Europe's debt crisis, leaders from both sides said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, October 4th 2011 - 20:00 UTC

  Greek striking public sector workers blockade ministries and paralyze Athens

  

  Greece’s striking public sector workers blockaded the entrance to several ministries in Athens on the second anniversary of the ruling Socialist party's election victory, disrupting talks with EU and IMF inspectors on the next aid tranche.

• Tuesday, October 4th 2011 - 19:52 UTC

  Federal Reserve tries to calm markets; promises further action to prop the economy

  

  The Federal Reserve is prepared to take further steps to help a fragile economic recovery held back by a weak job market and financial stresses in Europe, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday.