Politics

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:50 UTC

  Spain finally has a government: a coalition which includes a Catalan separatist group

  

  Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez won the narrowest of victories in Parliament on Tuesday to take power for a second term in Spain with the backing of the anti-austerity party Podemos and a Catalan separatist group.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  S&P admits a mistake and raised its debt grade for Argentina to CCC

  

  S&P Global Ratings raised its debt grade for Argentina on Tuesday, acknowledging the agency made a mistake when it changed the rating in late December for the crisis hit country.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:46 UTC

  Chilean activity down and poor prospects for this year, following weeks of social unrest

  

  Economic activity in Chile dropped 3.3% in November, led by a slump in mining activity, the central bank has said, and officials predicted low growth for the coming year as the country reels from anti-government unrest. The prediction is based on Chile’s economic activity index or IMACEC (Indicador Mensual de Actividad Economica).

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:45 UTC

  Argentina will begin distribution of food cards to low income families later this month

  

  Argentina's government will begin to distribute food cards to low-income families beginning later this month as part of its anti-hunger program. Social Development Minister Daniel Arroyo announced during a live presentation of Argentine Plan Against Hunger the government reached an agreement with the Governor Jorge Capitanich from the northern province of Chaco to fight with hunger.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:40 UTC

  Guaidó's ambassador has her diplomatic credentials withdrawn by Argentine government

  

  In a blow to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, Argentina's government said on Tuesday it did not recognize him as his nation's interim president and had revoked the credentials of his representative in Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:40 UTC

  University entrance exams in Chile disrupted by students protesting elitism

  

  University entrance exams to be taken by 300,000 students around Chile were disrupted in some cities by fresh protests over inequality and elitism, with some students blocking access to test sites and burning exam papers.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:35 UTC

  Falklands patrol HMS Forth arrives in the Islands

  

  The British Forces South Atlantic Islands and the Falkland Islands welcomed the arrival on Tuesday of the Royal Navy's next-generation patrol ship, HMS Forth. The ship has taken over the mission from HMS Clyde, which has offered protection to the Falklands and nearby South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands for the past 12 years.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Indonesia/China fisheries dispute escalates after Jakarta deploys fighter jets

  

  Indonesia's air force deployed four fighter jets to the South China Sea on Tuesday in a stand-off with Beijing after Jakarta protested over a Chinese violation of its exclusive economic zone.

• Tuesday, January 7th 2020 - 09:55 UTC

  Pompeo and Uruguay president elect Lacalle Pou look forward to a closer partnership

  

  United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on Monday to Uruguayan president-elect Luis Lacalle Pou to congratulate him on his November 24 presidential election victory and to discuss expanding bilateral economic engagement and deeper political cooperation.

• Tuesday, January 7th 2020 - 09:42 UTC

  Argentina boosts security as US/Iran conflict escalates

  

  Argentina’s government boosted security at its airports, borders and the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires as tensions simmer between the United States and Iran, the Argentine defense minister told local media on Monday.