Politics

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 21:41 UTC

  Brazil “Blackmails” Paraguay to Approve Venezuela’s Mercosur Annexation

  

  Paraguayan opposition and media strongly criticized Brazilian president Lula da Silva’s for not keeping his Itaipú dam-controversy promises and allegedly for conditioning further assistance to the approval by the Paraguayan congress of Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 21:26 UTC

  Homosexuals Campaign Against Lula da Silva’s Visit to Iran

  

  A Brazilian non government organization which defends the rights of homosexuals launched a campaign to protest President Lula da Silva’s visit to Iran scheduled for next May 15.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 21:19 UTC

  France Demands “Fair and Prompt” Compensation for Bolivian Nationalizations

  

  France's government demanded “fair and prompt” compensation from Bolivia for the nationalization of a power plant half-owned by French utility GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ).

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 21:15 UTC

  “Transgenic Fight Back”: Evo Morales Car Stolen by “Bald Suspect”

  

  A car used by Bolivian President Evo Morales was stolen when the driver went to buy bread rolls for the president's breakfast, officials said.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 21:07 UTC

  A Rousseff Administration Would Continue with Lula da Silva’s Economic Policies

  

  Brazil’s ruling coalition president candidate Dilma Rousseff will continue with the current economic policies of the government boosting the role of state corporations if successful in the coming October election, said José Eduardo Dutra, president of the Workers' Party.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 06:43 UTC

  Néstor Kirchner as UNASUR Secretary General is an “Embarrassment”

  

  Néstor Kirchner's appointment as UNASUR Secretary-General is “an embarrassment” because “he doesn't believe in dialogue or diplomacy, or the organization as a whole”, claimed dissident Argentine lawmaker Eduardo Amadeo, interviewed by the Buenos Aires Herald.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 06:24 UTC

  Sale of French Frigates to Taiwan Exposes 591 Million USD in “Commissions”

  

  Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih praised the decision this week by an international court of arbitration to force French defence group Thales to pay Taiwan more than 591 million US dollars as a sanction for the payment of commissions in the purchase of Lafayette frigates from France.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 06:15 UTC

  Argentine Judge Annuls Gay Marriage; Congress Debates Same Sex Civil Unions

  

  An Argentine national judge annulled on Tuesday a gay marriage between an Argentine national and a French businessman which took place five days ago, according to the Argentine news agency Telam.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 06:07 UTC

  Obama Administration Pushes for Fee on Large Banks to Pay for Bailouts

  

  United States big banks should be charged a fee to pay for bailouts as it will make them less prone to reckless lending, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers as he sought support for the proposal.

• Wednesday, May 5th 2010 - 06:00 UTC

  Argentine Dictatorship Former Economy Minister Arrested Accused of Kidnapping

  

  Former economy minister José Martínez de Hoz, the economic brains behind the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, has been arrested and transferred to a clinic after an amnesty law was lifted, a court official has said.