Politics

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 09:56 UTC

  Argentine president manages an all encompassing Social Pact, but farmers did not show up

  

  Argentine president Alberto Fernandez together with business people, union leaders and representatives from social groupings launched the social pact, called “Argentine commitment for development and solidarity”, with the purpose of achieving long term consensus that goes beyond a presidential mandate (four years), and includes “shared goals which can be crystallized in different chapters”

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Piñera triggers more riots as he claims many videos on the protests were fake news

  

  Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, whose government has been rocked by riots over inequality, ignited a fresh wave of anger after claiming that “many” videos on social media of police abuse of demonstrators were “fake news”, and unrest was being fomented by foreign governments.

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 09:50 UTC

  Ex judge Moro chosen as one of the decade's personalities by the Financial Times

  

  Brazilian Justice Minister Sergio Moro was chosen as one of the fifty personalities of the decade by the Financial Times, a list which includes activists, politicians, business people and sports persons from all over the world.

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 09:40 UTC

  Spain/Bolivia/Mexico spat over an alleged attempt to rescue ex president Morales aids accused of sedition

  

  Bolivia accused Spain of an abortive attempt to extract a wanted former government aid from Mexico's embassy in La Paz, prompting a sharp denial from Madrid. It was the latest twist in a murky incident on Friday involving embassy personnel in the Bolivian capital that has sparked a bitter diplomatic spat.

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 09:04 UTC

  Russia and China collude at UN to create convention on cybercrime, alarming the West

  

  The United Nations on Friday approved a Russian-led bid that aims to create a new convention on cybercrime, alarming rights groups and Western powers that fear a bid to restrict online freedom. The General Assembly approved the resolution sponsored by Russia and backed by China, which would set up a committee of international experts in 2020.

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 08:38 UTC

  Francis calls on families to talk at meal times and leave aside mobile phones

  

  Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to talk to each other at mealtimes instead of using their mobile phones, citing Jesus, Mary and Joseph as an example for families to follow.

• Monday, December 30th 2019 - 08:35 UTC

  Putin thanks Trump for helping to foil terrorist attack in St Petersburg

  

  Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Sunday thanked US counterpart Donald Trump for intelligence that helped to foil attacks on Russian soil, the Kremlin said. Putin thanked Trump “for the transfer, through special services, of information allowing the prevention of terrorist acts in Russia”, the president's office said in a statement.

• Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Argentina will continue to honor its debt, and has cleared all 2019 payments

  

  The Argentine government will continue to honor its debt while it works to reach an agreement with creditors, both the IMF and private bond holders, with the purpose of refinancing commitments and achieve a long term sustainable path for the payments, according to sources from the Economy ministry.

• Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:53 UTC

  Argentine farmers back on the roads protesting export duties

  

  Argentine farmers from the central provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fé are back on the roads to protest the latest raft of export duties on agriculture produce and overall increase in taxes established by the recently sworn in administration of President Alberto Fernandez.

• Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:52 UTC

  UK accused of “crimes against humanity” for not allowing people to return to Chagos islands, their ancestral home

  

  The UK has been accused of committing “crimes against humanity” for refusing to allow people to return to their former homes on the Chagos Islands, despite a ruling earlier this year by the United Nation's highest court.