Politics

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 19:30 UTC

  Brazil Targets an Army of 500.000 (From 300.000) in Next Two Decades

  

  Brazil plans to increase the number of its voluntary army from 300.000 to 500.000 in the next two decades as the defence budget keeps growing steadily said ministry sources. The country’s defence budget soared 44.5% in real terms in the last five years.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 06:21 UTC

  Pulp Mill Dispute: Protest and Counter Protest on Both Sides of the River Uruguay

  

  Angry protestors from Argentina marched Sunday on to the bridge linking with Uruguay to express their disenchantment with the recent international court judgement on the pulp mill dispute, which confirmed the mill does not pollute and there’s no sufficient evidence for re-location or damages’ compensation as demanded by Argentine environmentalists.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 06:12 UTC

  Malvinas and the Bicentennial: the Rule of Law Shadowed by the Logics of Power

  

  In the Malvinas issue, the rule of the law has been shadowed by the logics of power, said Argentine ambassador before United Nations Jorge Arguello during the presentation Sunday of a book titled “The Malvinas question in the Bicentennial”.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 06:04 UTC

  Lib-Democrats Discard Support for PM Brown if Labour is Third in Popular Vote

  

  Britain’s Liberal Democrats said they would not back Primer Minister Gordon Brown if his party came third in the popular vote on May 6, even if the nation's electoral system gave Labour the most parliamentary seats.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 05:51 UTC

  Former Royal Navy Falklands’ Patrols Sold to Bangladesh

  

  Two former Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels built by Hall Russell in Aberdeen and which for years were on Falkland Islands service have been sold to Bangladesh's navy.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 05:30 UTC

  Cuba Municipal Election: Chavez Calls for Respect; Fariñas: They Are “a Farce”

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called for respect for the political and electoral system of Cuba that this Sunday was holding municipal elections among candidates from an only party.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 01:36 UTC

  World Bank Agrees to Increased Capital and Voting Power for Developing Countries

  

  The 186 countries that own the World Bank Group endorsed on Sunday boosting its capital by more than 86 billion US dollars and giving developing countries more influence.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 01:26 UTC

  Paraguay Imposes 30-Day State of Emergency to Combat Insurgent Violence

  

  Paraguay has passed a bill imposing a temporary suspension of constitutional rights in five northern and central provinces of the country in a crackdown on violence by a self proclaimed insurgent group, the Paraguayan People’s Army, EPP.

• Monday, April 26th 2010 - 01:10 UTC

  Serra Calls for a More “Flexible” Mercosur; Claims it Limits Brazil’s “Sovereignty”

  

  Brazilian opposition presidential candidate Jose Serra—who leads in public opinion vote intention polls—reiterated his call for a more “flexible” Mercosur, effectively becoming a free trade area, because the current format limits Brazil’s sovereignty to sign agreements with other non member countries.

• Saturday, April 24th 2010 - 08:20 UTC

  Chile/Argentina Agree on Military Cooperation and a Joint Force for UN Peace Tasks

  

  Chile and Argentina agreed Friday an ample cooperation in military issues including the design and manufacturing of a joint aircraft for their respective air forces and the training of a rapid deployment force in support of United Nations peace missions.