Politics

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2011 - 19:46 UTC

  Paraguay’s “sausage-making” foreign policy has a new minister, Lara Castro

  

  Paraguay has a new Foreign Affaire minister, Jorge Lara Castro who until now was Deputy to Hector Lacognata and who had presented his resignation three weeks ago.

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2011 - 08:48 UTC

  “Not even dressed as Father Christmas” will Chavez make it to Mercosur

  

  “Not even dressed as Father Christmas can president Hugo Chavez make Venezuela become a member of Mercosur”, according to a 2009 Wikileaks cable quoting Paraguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Hector Lacognata during an informal talk with US ambassador in Asuncion Liliana Ayalde.

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2011 - 08:44 UTC

  Attacks on Libya causing divisions among coalition members

  

  The international military campaign in Libya has created apparent divisions between coalition leaders carrying out the UN-sanctioned operation and other world powers.

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2011 - 08:36 UTC

  For a third night international military coalition bombs Tripoli

  

  Loud explosions have rocked the Libyan capital, Tripoli, for a third night as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attempt to stop any new attack from an international military coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over the country, Al Jazeera reports.

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2011 - 08:23 UTC

  US ready to help Chile solve human rights crimes but no apology for 1973 events

  

  In what was the most controversial issue of the visit, President Obama said he's ready to help Chile solve human rights crimes committed during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, but avoided agreeing Monday to a US apology for meddling in the country's affairs.

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2011 - 03:33 UTC

  Obama calls for “new era of partnership” with Latin America in spite of “rocky past”

  

  Visiting President Barack Obama called in Chile for a “new era of partnership” with Latin America as he acknowledged a sometimes troubled past between Washington and its neighbours in the region.

• Monday, March 21st 2011 - 22:23 UTC

  Ireland: EU agriculture commissioner supports strong position against Mercosur

  

  Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has pressed Ireland’s anxieties about ongoing trade talks with Mercosur with agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos who was most receptive to Ireland’s position, reports the Dublin media.

• Monday, March 21st 2011 - 22:17 UTC

  US farmers concerned with Mercosur expanding farm exports to Colombia

  

  United States farmers have called on the US government to approve the free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama because Mercosur countries are taking a bigger share of US agriculture exports to those countries.

• Monday, March 21st 2011 - 21:41 UTC

  EU farm ministers support strong CAP with “proportional financial resources”

  

  European Union agriculture ministers at the weekend rejected capping subsidies to Europe's biggest farms but compromised on a fairer share-out of funds between farmers in Eastern and Western Europe.

• Monday, March 21st 2011 - 21:37 UTC

  Italy fears massive inflow of African refugees, asks for help from EU members

  

  Italy is urging other European countries to take a greater share of the immigrants pouring across from North Africa. The tiny island of Lampedusa is just south of Sicily and only 150 kilometers from the Tunisian coast and has borne the brunt of the flood of refugees.