Politics

Saturday, December 23rd 2017 - 10:23 UTC
Rajoy rules out talks with exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday said he would not hold talks with exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont in the wake of the results of Catalan regional elections held Thursday.
Saturday, December 23rd 2017 - 09:35 UTC
Chile calls for closer links between Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance

Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Heraldo Munoz called for closer ties between Latin America's two leading trade blocs. Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance should work more closely together, Munoz told the 51st Mercosur and associate members summit held this week in Brasilia.
Saturday, December 23rd 2017 - 09:23 UTC
Divided Fujimori opposition helped Kuczynski avoid removal from office

Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has thwarted a bid in Congress to force him out over a graft scandal, as an opposition lawmaker accused him of securing votes by promising to free ex-president Alberto Fujimori from jail. Before Thursday evening’s vote on a motion to push him out, Kuczynski urged lawmakers to set aside unproven allegations of graft against him to defend Peru from what he called a coup attempt by the right-wing Popular Force party.
Saturday, December 23rd 2017 - 09:13 UTC
Ecuador constitutional court allows process to dismiss imprisoned ex vice-president

Ecuador's Constitutional Court gave lawmakers authority to start proceedings aimed at dismissing Vice President Jorge Glas -- in prison for graft -- from office. The court's judges gave unanimous backing to the National Assembly to go ahead with the procedure.
Saturday, December 23rd 2017 - 08:47 UTC
Trump administration recognizes reelected Hernandez as Honduras president

The Trump administration on Friday recognized the results of Honduras’ disputed presidential election, despite problems found by poll observers and calls from the U.S. Congress for a new vote. In a statement, the U.S. State Department congratulated President Juan Orlando Hernandez on his re-election, but also urged the country’s electoral commission to examine all disputes to the result.
Friday, December 22nd 2017 - 11:02 UTC
Macri sends message to the Venezuelan people and demands respect for human rights

Argentine president Mauricio Macri in Brasilia expressed full solidarity with the Venezuelan people, called for human rights respect and freedom for the political prisoners held by the regime of president Nicolas Maduro.
Friday, December 22nd 2017 - 10:58 UTC
“Mercosur, the most isolated and protectionist block in the world”

Mercosur is the most isolated and protectionist block in the world, said Argentine president Mauricio Macri on Thursday during a meeting with Argentine media, in Brasilia, in the framework of the current presidential summit during which the six-month rotating chair of the group will passed from Brazil to Paraguay.
Friday, December 22nd 2017 - 10:51 UTC
Theresa May loses one of her closest allies in the cabinet to pornography allegations

Damian Green, one of British Prime Minister Theresa May's closest allies, has been sacked from the cabinet after an inquiry found he had breached the ministerial code. He was “asked to quit” after he was found to have made “inaccurate and misleading” statements over what he knew about claims pornography was found on his office computer in 2008.
Friday, December 22nd 2017 - 10:46 UTC
Mercosur divided on Jerusalem vote: Argentina and Paraguay abstained; Brazil and Uruguay supported

A resolution backed overwhelmingly by the United Nations has effectively called on the US to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The vote in support of the resolution was 128, nine against and 35 abstentions. The South American Mercosur block, currently holding a summit in Brasilia, voted divided, while Brazil and Uruguay supported the resolution, Argentina and Paraguay abstained.
Friday, December 22nd 2017 - 10:16 UTC
Catalonia is back at starting point: separatists win a slim majority

Catalonia's separatists look set to regain power in the wealthy Spanish region after local elections on Thursday, deepening the nation's political crisis in a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and European Union leaders who backed him. With nearly all votes counted, separatist parties won a slim majority in Catalan parliament, a result that promises to prolong political tensions which have damaged Spain's economy and prompted a business exodus from the region.