Politics

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 10:14 UTC

  UN human rights experts condemn pardon of ex president Alberto Fujimori

  

  Condemning the pardoning of former President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, a group of United Nations independent human rights experts have said that the move undermines the work of the judiciary and the international community to achieve justice.

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 10:04 UTC

  Temer clashes with Supreme Court over Christmas pardon list that included corruption-related convicts

  

  The head of Brazil’s Supreme Court suspended parts of a Christmas decree from President Michel Temer granting pardons to convicted criminals on Thursday, saying Temer’s actions needed further examination by the court. Cármen Lúcia ruled largely in favor of a legal challenge by Brazil’s top prosecutor, Raquel Dodge, who said on Wednesday that the pardons were unconstitutional and threatened a probe into the country’s largest-ever corruption scandal.

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 09:57 UTC

  Relatives and friends honor 132 police officers killed in Rio de Janeiro in 2017

  

  Relatives and friends of some of the 132 police officers killed in Rio de Janeiro this year have taken part in a protest to honor their loved ones. It was organized by human rights NGO Rio de Paz. Police uniforms stained with red paint and red roses in their pockets were hung alongside plaques with the names of the officers killed in 2017.

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 06:55 UTC

  US withdraws support for the search of the ARA San Juan submarine

  

  The United States Southern Command announced the U.S. was withdrawing support for the mission to find the Argentine submarine that went missing last month with 44 aboard in the South Atlantic.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 10:07 UTC

  Thousands of government papers “vanished” from UK's National Archives

  

  Thousands of government papers detailing some of the most controversial episodes in 20th-century British history have vanished after civil servants removed them from the country’s National Archives and then reported them as lost. Documents concerning the Falklands war, Northern Ireland’s Troubles and the infamous Zinoviev letter – in which MI6 officers plotted to bring about the downfall of the first Labour government - are all said to have been misplaced.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:59 UTC

  Parliament demands release of studies on potential impact of Brexit on the economy

  

  The United Kingdom government is facing new calls to release confidential studies drawn up by officials looking at the potential impact of Brexit on the economy. Twenty-five Labour MPs have written to Chancellor Philip Hammond calling on him to release the material after he disclosed the work was being carried out during a recent session of the Commons Treasury Committee.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:54 UTC

  Temer appoints new Labor minister; officials resign to run in 2018 elections

  

  Brazilian President Michel Temer will appoint Congressman Pedro Fernandes as the new labor minister, the leader of the Brazilian Labour Party, Jovair Arantes, said on Wednesday. Brazilian Labor Minister Ronaldo Nogueira has resigned because he plans to seek a seat in Chamber of Deputies in next year's election.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:49 UTC

  Brazil supports Guyana's boundaries which are challenged by Venezuela

  

  Brazil maintains that the settlement of the Guyana/Venezuela Border is final and must be respected, according to the country's Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge. Following his attendance at the recently concluded Mercosur Summit held in Brazil, Greenidge said Brasilia has been updated on Venezuela’s contention that the 1899 Award is null and void, and remains resolute to its original position.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:40 UTC

  Brasilia/Caracas tit for tat: Venezuelan top diplomat declared “persona non grata”

  

  Brazil has declared Gerardo Maldonado, Venezuela’s top diplomat in the country, persona non grata in a tit-for-tat move that comes just days after Caracas expelled the Brazilian ambassador.

• Wednesday, December 27th 2017 - 19:56 UTC

  “Operación Genesis” calls to rebellion of military and police forces

  

  “Venezuela: God and Christ gave us the victory. Lets go to the streets to take our freedom” says Oscar Pérez, an ex-inspector of the CICPC, the national police force in a new video diffused by himself with a group of rebellious officials. In the video he calls on the population and the national security agencies to join them in the fight and rebel against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.