Politics

• 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.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 23:57 UTC

  Rousseff political downfall ever so close as Senate committee recommends her removal from office

  

  Brazilian Senate committee voted on Thursday to recommend the full upper house remove suspended president Dilma Rousseff from office in an impeachment trial, sending the nation's political drama into its end game. The decision -- passed by a vote of 14 to five -- is non-binding, but delivers Rousseff yet another setback on the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 23:08 UTC

  “Double-lock” commitment for Gibraltar ensures UK minister for Europe

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has met with the new Minister for Europe, Sir Alan Duncan, in London, where he set out the concerns that Brexit has created in the Rock. Mr. Picardo also outlined the opportunities that could now be exploited as a result of a new relationship with the EU.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 22:09 UTC

  RMS St Helena schedule extended another year until airport is ready for commercial flights

  

  RMS St. Helena, one of the last Royal Mail Ships in the world is to continue serving her remote South Atlantic island namesake until 1 July 2017, the St Helena Government has announced. The RMS passenger and freight service will continue to operate between Cape Town, St Helena and Ascension Island with the extended schedule confirmed by the island's director of tourism.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 22:02 UTC

  Petrobras corruption case nets another company, senior executives and politicians

  

  Brazil’s federal police said they had arrested two people and raided properties over alleged corruption at building firm Queiroz Galvão, as fresh allegations linked the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) to an alleged US$3-million bribe. The sprawling “Operation Carwash” investigation was launched two years ago to tackle price fixing, bribery and political kickbacks at state-run oil firm Petrobras.

• Thursday, August 4th 2016 - 21:52 UTC

  Venezuela defies Mercosur members and announces it will “fully exercise the presidency”

  

  Venezuela has defiantly confirmed that is will fully exercise the “self-proclaimed” presidency of Mercosur, despite the opposition from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, who consider the chair vacant and are meeting in Montevideo to find an alternative for the six month mandate.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 07:24 UTC

  Brazilian caipirinha: Rousseff impeachment and Olympics take off this week

  

  Brazil's long-running presidential impeachment drama starts to unveil this week just as the Rio Olympics sprints out of the starting blocks. Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is accused of breaking budgetary laws, is staying away from the opening ceremony in Rio.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 06:58 UTC

  Rio Games opening tailored to the current economic conditions in Brazil

  

  Rio de Janeiro Olympics opening ceremony on Friday will break with the recent tradition of large-scale and expensive shows, featuring a low-emissions cauldron and an “analogue” experience, executive producer Marco Balich said.

• Wednesday, August 3rd 2016 - 06:10 UTC

  Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay consider Mercosur chair 'vacant' and call for urgent meeting

  

  Mercosur's disarray and fault lines were again exposed when Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay insisted that Venezuela's self proclamation as president of the group was invalid, and also expressed disappointment with Uruguay for having ended its mandate last Saturday causing “great uncertainty”.