Politics

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:27 UTC

  Shimon Peres ends visit to Brazil, Sunday flies to Argentina

  

  Israeli President Shimon Peres visited the headquarters of Brazilian oil company Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro Friday, on the last day of a historic official visit to Brazil.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:25 UTC

  IMF calls on Asian countries to appreciate their currencies

  

  International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan urged Asian nations to let their currencies appreciate as part of the region’s contribution to a more balanced global recovery.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:21 UTC

  Uruguay will abandon Mercosur if Lacalle is elected president

  

  Uruguay will definitively abandon Mercosur if Luis Alberto Lacalle is elected president in the run off on November 29th. Lacalle also forecasted that Mercosur as a customs union has not much time left, “it’s a dying organization”.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:15 UTC

  Chilean presidential candidate triggers controversy over human rights trials

  

  Conservative presidential candidate Sebastían Piñera on Thursday defended comments he made Tuesday to a meeting of retired, Pinochet-era military and police officials. Piñera pledged his government would put an end to human rights cases that “never end” if he succeeds in his bid for office.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:11 UTC

  Brazil wants a Colombia/Venezuela border commission to ease tensions

  

  Brazil will be proposing to Colombia and Venezuela the creation of border vigilance commission as the first step to cool tensions between the two neighbouring countries, reported the government’s official news agency.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 05:53 UTC

  Canadian cat sparks rumours of Mrs. Thatcher’s death

  

  A misconstrued text message announcing the passing of a beloved pet has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity in Canada. Transport Minister John Baird sent a message reading: “Thatcher has died”.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 05:49 UTC

  Labour by-election victory gives PM Brown breathing space

  

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has survived his latest by-election test as Labour comfortably cruised to victory in the Glasgow North East by-election. The party's Willie Bain won the seat made vacant by the resignation of former Commons Speaker Michael Martin with a majority of 8,111 over the SNP.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 05:31 UTC

  Chilean Congress votes to create an Environmental Ministry

  

  Chile’s Senate voted early this week to create an Environmental Ministry, a milestone in Chilean environmental policy. The bill, first introduced in 2008, has been subject to considerable controversy from both supporters and opponents.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 15:27 UTC

  Frei and Piñera expected to face-off in Chilean presidential run off

  

  With only a month remaining before Chileans cast their votes Dec. 13 to elect their next president, one of the nation’s most important polls showed the race tightening, but with the two front-runners -rightist billionaire Sebastian Piñera and centrist Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei - holding on to their leads.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 15:16 UTC

  Lula da Silva, next to Shimon Peres, justifies Iran’s leader visit to Brazil

  

  Brazil's President justified the scheduled visit of Iran's president in two weeks time and offered to mediate in the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestine. Lula da Silva rejected criticism over the upcoming visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, slated for November 23, standing next to visiting Israeli president Shimon Peres.