Politics

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 16:48 UTC

  Raul Castro's Cuba allows farmers to hire workers directly

  

  The Cuban government Friday allowed farmers to hire workers directly and no longer have to go to cooperatives in a step to set aside strict controls on their economy to boost production for a country which imports more than two-thirds of its food. In other areas of the economy, such as restaurants, Cuba has already allowed small business owners to hire their staff directly.

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 09:13 UTC

  Macri's Argentina back from world isolation except from Venezuela and Iran

  

  Argentine President Mauricio Macri said Friday that “we have come from years of isolation and bad relations with almost all countries except Venezuela and Iran.” He added that “this year we have experienced a Copernican change in that sense.”

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 07:30 UTC

  Falklands/South America second flight to be addressed at Argentina/UK meeting next week

  

  Two Falklands lawmakers, MLA Mike Summers and MLA Phyl Rendell, will represent the Islands government as part of the British delegation at meetings with Argentina in London next Monday and Tuesday. According to a release from the Islands' government the principal item to be addressed is a second flight from South America to the Falklands that was agreed in a September Joint Statement between the UK and Argentina.

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 05:40 UTC

  President Hassan Rouhani wants Iran to have nuclear-powered warships

  

  After accusing the United States of violating their nuclear deal, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation to outline the development of nuclear-powered warships.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 23:59 UTC

  Google, Cuba close deal to improve speed of internet connection

  

  Google and Cuba's state-owned telecommunications company Etecsa signed an agreement to improve the speed of access to Google products on the Internet, which means an improvement in Internet access on the island, where Google first landed in 2014.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 11:34 UTC

  Venezuelan leader calls Macri “coward” and says Argentine ambassador should leave the country

  

  Diosdado Cabello, considered one of the three most powerful persons in Venezuela called Argentine president Mauricio Macri a “coward”, described the Argentine ambassador in Caracas as an “enemy” and suggested that if he had any dignity left he should pack his suitcase and leave Venezuela.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 10:00 UTC

  Brexit: UK wants to first discuss status of Britons in Europe and EU citizens in UK

  

  UK Prime Minister Theresa May wants an early deal on what Brexit means for the status of Britons in Europe and EU citizens in the UK, she has told EU leaders. The prime minister's comments came as she updated fellow leaders on the UK's plans for leaving the European Union.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 09:32 UTC

  Obama says Putin was aware of US elections' hacking to favor Trump and anticipates sanctions

  

  Russian President Vladimir Putin supervised his intelligence agencies' hacking of the U.S. presidential election and turned it from a general attempt to discredit American democracy to an effort to help Donald Trump, three U.S. officials said on Thursday.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 09:02 UTC

  Lula faces new corruption charges, but he leads polls for 2018 presidential election

  

  New corruption charges linked to Brazil's massive embezzlement scheme at Petrobras oil company were filed on Thursday against former president Lula da Silva, prosecutors said. A judge will now have to decide whether Lula, whose spokesman called the charges “invented,” should face trial.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 08:50 UTC

  Simulus measures in Brazil to appease recession and Temer's tumbling credibility

  

  Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday unveiled a raft of stimulus measures to reduce the debt burden of businesses and consumers struggling with the country's worst recession on record amid growing popular discontent. Although limited in scope, the measures aim to appease Brazilians angry at the deepening recession in Latin America's biggest economy and allegations of corruption against Temer and his closest allies.