Politics

• Sunday, August 7th 2016 - 17:56 UTC

  Falklands' permission for new demining program this summer

  

  The Falkland Islands Planning and Building Committee has granted permission to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to undertake clearance of land mines (a technical assessment) at various sites around the Falklands.

• Sunday, August 7th 2016 - 17:47 UTC

  “Independent Falkland Islands”, Di Tella's proposal to Rifkind in 1997

  

  The Evening Standard has published a brief summary of the book, “Power and Pragmatism”, which collects the memoirs of former foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind, and there are some interesting passages referred to talks with Argentine officials about the future of the Falkland Islands.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 21:18 UTC

  Rio Games have an international counterterrorism office, a first for an Olympic event

  

  A lot of people are fretting about the safety of the Rio Olympic Games. Zika fears, the notoriously unsafe water in Guanabara Bay, an Olympic venue so filthy that some rowers and sailors are planning to wear protective gear and of course violent crime.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 20:54 UTC

  Cuba admits Venezuelan recession is hitting hard: Chavist oil shipments down 20%

  

  Venezuela’s grim situation is impacting not only millions of households around the country: it is also sending panic waves across the Caribbean all the way to Cuba, a solid ally that for decades now has relied heavily on Chavismo’s generosity.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 20:44 UTC

  Kerry supports Macri free-market policies but calls for patience: things don't change overnight

  

  United States Secretary of State John Kerry urged Argentina to be patient with the slow pace of economic progress and investments under its new government and praised president Mauricio Macri’s free-market stance.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 20:23 UTC

  Argentine human rights leader arrest warrant for alleged involvement in public funds embezzlement

  

  Hundreds of supporters prevented Argentine police on Thursday from executing an arrest warrant against the 87-year-old president of the human rights groups Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in a highly politicized corruption case. Hebe de Bonafini had refused to submit to questioning about the alleged embezzlement of public funds meant for a low-income housing project, “Shared Dreams”, registered in her group’s name.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 20:18 UTC

  Kerry delivers declassified documents from the Argentine 1976/83 dictatorship

  

  US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered the first batch of Washington’s declassified intelligence documents dating back to the 1976-1983 Argentine dictatorship to President Mauricio Macri, following through on a commitment made by US President Barack Obama during his March visit to Argentina.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 19:50 UTC

  Mercosur founding members agree to disagree, but will hold another round of talks

  

  Mercosur founding members coordinators who met in Montevideo on Thursday to address the controversy over the presidency of the group and the self proclamation to the post by Venezuela, did finally reach some conclusions, but the most significant seems to be that they continue to disagree on the steps to follow and are prepared for another round of talks.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 13:18 UTC

  Clint Eastwood blasts the “kiss-ass generation”, and admits a vote for Trump despite “some dumb things”

  

  Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood legend. He's been a movie icon for decades, the star of the famed “Man With No Name” Spaghetti Westerns and Dirty Harry movies. The 86-year-old Oscar winner is also one of the highest-profile conservatives in the movie business. Or maybe he's one of the highest-profile libertarians but he's not sure which ideological descriptor fits for him anymore.

• Friday, August 5th 2016 - 12:18 UTC

  Moody's lowers Uruguay's banking system outlook to negative: inflation remains main challenge

  

  Moody's has lowered its outlook on Uruguay's (Baa2 negative) banking system to negative from stable on the expectation that asset risks will rise moderately as challenging economic conditions weigh on consumers and businesses alike, and profitability will decline.