Politics

• Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 05:02 UTC

  Brazilian journalists challenge law which forbids satirizing candidates

  

  An election law from the era of Brazil's dictatorship past which forbids making fun of candidates has caused concern ahead of the countries October 3 presidential election and a possible run-off at the end of October.

• Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 04:53 UTC

  Military exercise to defend the Panama Canal brings together 18 countries

  

  More than 2,000 civilian and military personnel from 18 countries began a 12-day exercise in Panama City Tuesday to train in a joint, multinational effort to defend the Panama Canal.

• Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 04:40 UTC

  Constitutional Court says US/Colombia military accord must pass Congress

  

  Colombia's Constitutional Court suspended a deal giving US troops more access to Colombian bases, sending the agreement back to President Juan Manuel Santos to seek congressional approval.

• Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 03:53 UTC

  Piñera condemns links of Chile’s communists, Mapuche militants and FARC

  

  Responding to a recent document linking activists from the indigenous Mapuches and Chile's Communist Party to Colombian guerrilla group FARC, President Sebastián Piñera condemned any collaboration between Chileans and violent groups.

• Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 03:47 UTC

  Harvard consolidates as top US academic research institution

  

  Harvard University took sole possession of first place in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 rankings of top United States academic research institutions. Princeton University, which tied with Harvard for the lead last year, fell to second place.

• Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 23:58 UTC

  Colombian president, --temporarily--, rules out peace dialogue with guerrillas

  

  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ruled out, for the time being, any possible dialogue with the guerrilla organizations and said he would abstain from naming a peace commissioner. At the same time he called on the armed forces to increase their efforts in combating terrorism.

• Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 23:56 UTC

  Latinamericans trust the media and the military, shows regional poll

  

  The media and the Armed Forces are among the institutions most trusted in Latin America, well ahead of the church, parliament and political parties, according to a regional opinion poll from FLACSO, Latinamerican Social Sciences Faculty.

• Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:33 UTC

  Poll confirms Brazilian incumbent presidential candidate Rousseff 11 points lead

  

  Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff has an 11 percentage point lead over former Sao Paulo Governor Jose Serra before the country’s October elections, according to an Ibope poll published by TV Globo network and O Estado do Sao Paulo newspaper.

• Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:26 UTC

  Cristina has better image, but husband Nestor, “next presidential candidate”

  

  Argentine president Cristina Kirchner has a better image but most interviews believe her husband Nestor Kirchner will finally be the incumbent presidential candidate in 2011, according to a public opinion poll undertaken by Poliarquía for Buenos Aires daily La Nación.

• Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:04 UTC

  Remarkable photos of the August 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Prague

  

  The Argentine foundation for the endowment of art and culture OSDE has opened an exhibition in Buenos Aires which recalls the Soviet invasion of Prague in 1968. The remarkable photographs were taken during one week in August of 1968, which capture the Soviet-led invasion of Prague.