Politics

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 10:34 UTC

  Mercosur/EU hurdles remain, and a deal announcement might not be reached this week

  

  Free-trade talks between the European Union and Mercosur still face hurdles over beef and ethanol, and an expected deal announcement this week might not happen, officials involved in negotiations admitted on Monday. Mercosur diplomats on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires said EU officials had not presented improved offers on EU tariff-free imports for beef and ethanol as promised.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 09:21 UTC

  Falklands' election motivates support resolution in US House of Representatives

  

  The United States 115th Congress has tabled resolution 650 recognizing the results of the free and fair elections for the new Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands held on 9 November 2017. The resolution, 650, was submitted last week by Representatives Mario Diaz Balart, Derek Kilmer and George Holding, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 09:02 UTC

  Irish and French argue “a win for Mercosur in agriculture is a loss for EU farmers”

  

  Irish MEP and vice-president of the European Parliament Mairead McGuinness is representing the European Parliament at the ministerial assembly on the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Argentina, which began on Sunday, and has warned that rushing towards a Mercosur/European Union deal would jeopardize the EU beef industry.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 08:51 UTC

  Welsh Labour MP calls for a second referendum on final Brexit deal

  

  A Welsh Labour MP is calling for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal because the “British people should have the last word”. Geraint Davies' backbench bill offering a vote on whether to accept the deal negotiated between the UK and the EU was published in detail on Monday.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 08:33 UTC

  Scottish Brexit minister calls for “basic answers” to the UK/EU deal

  

  Scottish Brexit minister Mike Russell has called for “basic answers” about the deal struck with European leaders ahead of talks with UK ministers. Mr Russell is in London for a summit with members of the UK government and the other devolved administrations.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 08:13 UTC

  Peruvian president admits working for Odebrecht, as financial advisor or irrigation project

  

  Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski acknowledged that he worked as a financial adviser for an irrigation project owned by the Brazilian builder Odebrecht, contradicting his previous denials of having any links to the company. Odebrecht is at the center of Latin America’s biggest graft scandal and has admitted to paying about US$ 30 million in bribes to secure contracts in Peru over a decade.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 07:50 UTC

  Strong reply to Netanyahu: No European leaders plan to adopt Trump's position on Jerusalem

  

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the EU on Monday to back a new U.S. peace initiative in the Middle East, after President Donald Trump's unilateral decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital met with widespread condemnation.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 19:51 UTC

  Sao Paulo governor named leader of PSDB and most likely presidential candidate

  

  The centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party, PSDB, elected four-time Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin as its leader on Saturday, making him its most likely presidential nominee in next year’s elections. Alckmin threw the party’s weight behind a social security overhaul that is currently before Congress and would cut generous pensions for public-sector employees.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 19:29 UTC

  Brazilian lawmaker and professional clown won't run for reelection: he feels ashamed of his colleagues

  

  A professional clown in Brazil who ran for congress and won by a huge margin says he will not stand again in 2018. Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, better known as Tiririca, is coming to the end of his second term in the Chamber of Deputies.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 19:24 UTC

  Honduras recount of presidential votes “extremely consistent”

  

  Honduras' electoral tribunal has finished the partial recount of votes from the disputed presidential election, declaring the results are “extremely consistent” with the original count. In the partial recount of 4,753 ballot boxes, President Juan Orlando Hernandez won 50.1% of the votes, against some 31.5% for his rival Salvador Nasralla.