Politics

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 21:37 UTC

  Chavez adds 3 days to Easter holiday (completing a week) to save energy

  

  President Hugo Chavez has added three days to Venezuela's Easter holiday to deal with a growing energy crisis. The move which will close government and public offices means most Venezuelans will have a seven-day break starting on 1 April.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 04:27 UTC

  Brazil ready to raise rates next April following strong rebound

  

  Brazil's central bank policy-makers said on Thursday they are ready to raise rates next month to curb inflation pressure as jobs data highlighted the strength of the country's economic rebound.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 04:23 UTC

  Kirchner key ally says that inflation in Argentina can’t be denied, “it’s reality”

  

  Argentina’s main union leader and a close political ally of President Cristina Kirchner, Hugo Moyano said that “inflation in Argentina is a fact, and nobody can deny it’s a reality”. His words follow previous statement from Economy minister Amado Boudou who admitted “prices’ tension but “not necessarily inflation”

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 04:18 UTC

  Brazil/Argentina hold new round of talks to facilitate bilateral trade

  

  Mercosur main country members, Argentina and Brazil begun on Thursday a two-day round of bilateral trade talks in Brazil to discuss basically whether to continue or not with the non-automatic licenses both countries hold.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 01:53 UTC

  Euro zone agrees € 22 billion ‘safety net’ for Greece including the IMF

  

  Sixteen Euro zone countries have backed a financing plan to help debt-laden Greece, which will include IMF money. The safety net would total up to 22 billion Euros and would apply only if market lending to Greece dried up.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 00:46 UTC

  Bolivia: not the moment to pressure Chile for ocean access

  

  Bolivian President Evo Morales, along with the Bolivian Army and Navy, celebrated Sea Day this week, an annual holiday mourning Bolivia’s loss of ocean access to Chile following the Pacific War 131 years ago.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 00:43 UTC

  Former KGB agent buys The Independent and Independent on Sunday for £ 1

  

  Former KGB agent and London’s Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev is buying The Independent and Independent on Sunday for £1, it has been confirmed. The Russian oligarch has snapped up the titles for the same price as a single copy of The Independent.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 20:45 UTC

  First minefield cleared in Falkland Islands – thanks to Zimbabweans

  

  ZIMBABWEAN de-miners were cheered and clapped by a large crowd of Falklands residents today as the, “brave and hardworking” experts demonstrated confidence in their work by holding a soccer game in the recently cleared Minefield 25 on Sapper Hill near Stanley.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 13:04 UTC

  Falklands politicians an important resource says British Government official

  

  “AN important international diplomatic resource” is how Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) official Colin Roberts visiting the Falkland Islands describes Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 05:47 UTC

  Former Spanish president warns on China’s growing influence in Latinamerica

  

  Former Spanish president Felipe González and several experts in economics and politics warned about the growing influence of China in Latin America, which nevertheless could also help to balance the international scenario according to a forum held in New York University sponsored by the Euro-America Foundation.