Politics

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 23:19 UTC

  Lula da Silva is warned about involvement in the presidential campaign

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva was authorized to participate in the campaign of the ruling coalition presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff, but after working hours and with all expenses billed to the Workers Party.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:42 UTC

  Four banks accused of selling “toxic derivatives” to the city of Milan

  

  Four major banks have been ordered to stand trial in Italy in a fraud case related to derivatives trading. JP Morgan Chase, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Germany's Depfa bank have been told they will be tried for aggravated fraud, along with 13 other people. The charges relate to the sale of derivates to the city of Milan.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:32 UTC

  Germany favours exclusion of Euro-zone members to avert a currency crisis

  

  Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel says she wants the Euro-zone to be able to exclude one of its members in future if that is necessary to avert a crisis. Mrs Merkel told the German Bundestag (parliament) that existing EU rules were not strong enough to deal with the current crisis triggered by Greece.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:27 UTC

  Amnesty calls on Cuban authorities to release dissidents “unfairly detained”

  

  Amnesty International Wednesday called on the Cuban authorities to release all dissidents “unfairly detained” and to revoke laws restricting freedom of expression and the right to free assembly and association.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 06:42 UTC

  St. Patrick's Day Facts: Shamrocks, Snakes, and a Saint

  

  On St. Patrick's Day—Wednesday, March 17—millions of people will don green and celebrate the Irish with parades, good cheer, and perhaps a pint of beer. But few St. Patrick's Day revelers have a clue about St. Patrick, the man, according to the author of St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 06:40 UTC

  Kirchner administration is “made out of words and scandals” like a soap opera

  

  Former Argentine president Eduardo Duhalde compared President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration with “soap operas and afternoon TV shows,” making a strong reference to celebrities' disputes in order to gain TV air and their resemblance with politicians.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 06:09 UTC

  First Russian head of state visit to Argentina next month

  

  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will travel to Argentina on April 14 and 15, the first official visit by a Russian head of state in 125 years of bilateral relations, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 06:05 UTC

  Chinese savers consider current inflation as “unacceptable”

  

  More than one in two Chinese savers regard the current inflation rate as unacceptable, according to a central bank survey that is likely to fan official concern about deteriorating inflation expectations.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2010 - 21:56 UTC

  Briton is recognized as world's first officially genderless person

  

  A British expat who claims to have no gender is thought to have become the first person to be officially recognized as neither male nor female.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2010 - 21:43 UTC

  Falklands MLAs with greater responsibilities and busy overseas agenda

  

  It is proving a busy overseas season for the Falkland Islands Members of the Legislative Assembly with a full agenda of political and administrative contacts in London, reports Gilbert House, Office of the Legislative Assembly.