Politics

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 20:17 UTC

  Rousseff confirms flexible-orthodox Tombini to head Brazil’s central bank

  

  Brazilian president-elect Dilma Rousseff press office announced Thursday that economist Alexandre Tombini will be the next president of the central bank; economist Guido Mantega will continue as Finance minister and engineer Miriam Belchoir coordinator of PAC (program to bolster growth) will become Planning and Budget minister.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 20:03 UTC

  Irish government slashes benefits and raises taxes: VAT 24%

  

  The Irish government has unveiled a range of tough austerity measures designed to help solve the country's debt crisis. Among the spending cuts and tax rises are a reduction in the minimum wage, a new property tax and thousands of public sector job cuts.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 19:57 UTC

  Final journey for a HMS Ark Royal formation of Harrier jump jets

  

  A formation of Harrier jump jets has made their final journey from HMS Ark Royal - the last such flight from a UK aircraft carrier for about 10 years. The four GR9 jets marked the end of an era when they roared off the deck near North Shields, North Tyneside. Both the Ark Royal and the Harriers are being scrapped under cost-saving plans.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 05:28 UTC

  Lula da Silva not interested in Unasur secretary general post

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva has no plans or intentions of becoming the next secretary general of Unasur, Union of South American Nations said his spokesperson Marcelo Baumbach who discarded all speculations related to the issue.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 05:26 UTC

  Brazil promises FIFA “peace and tranquillity” for the 2014 World Cup

  

  The Brazilian government has assured FIFA officials that the 2014 World Cup will be a success, promising football's governing body “peace and tranquillity”.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 05:17 UTC

  Emergency loans to Ireland total 85 b Euros, conditioned to draconian budget cuts

  

  EU and IMF have extended 85bn Euros of emergency loans to the Republic of Ireland, according to reports on Irish state television. The widely anticipated bail-out package comes after a day of sharp falls in global share prices and the Euro.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 05:11 UTC

  Brazilian ambassador “mistreated” by Argentine official on trade issues

  

  The Brazilian financial newspaper Valor Economico claims Argentine Domestic Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno “mistreated” Brazilian ambassador in Buenos Aires Enio Cordeiro following a discussion on alleged “informal” obstacles that the Cristina Fernández government is planning to apply on Brazilian imports.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 02:56 UTC

  Ample support for democracy in Uruguay and Argentina; much less in Peru

  

  Peru is the country with less citizen support for democracy in the Americas while in Uruguay, Costa Rica and Argentina the system enjoys massive approval.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 00:57 UTC

  Spain feeling Irish contagion: extra yield on bonds hits Euro-area high

  

  Spain said it doesn’t need to adopt further austerity measures to stem a surge in borrowing costs as the central government’s budget gap narrowed by almost half.

• Wednesday, November 24th 2010 - 00:51 UTC

  Currency appreciation pressures inevitable until US controls budget deficit

  

  Fast-growing emerging markets would be facing currency appreciation pressures even without the US quantitative easing policy, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in an interview on Tuesday.