Politics

• Monday, August 29th 2016 - 06:49 UTC

  Germany admits US/Europe trade talks have failed; growing fears of populism reactions

  

  Talks aimed at setting up a U.S.-European free trade zone have run aground because of intransigence on Washington's part, a top German politician said Sunday. The Obama administration and the 28-member European Union have been in talks to set up the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, which would be the world's largest free trade zone.

• Monday, August 29th 2016 - 06:41 UTC

  Morales claims killing of minister and three miners was a coup attempt

  

  Morales claimed that the violent miners protests this week that resulted in the beating and killing of Deputy Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes and the deaths of three demonstrators were the latest unsuccessful attempt by his political enemies to forcibly remove him from office.

• Monday, August 29th 2016 - 04:27 UTC

  Obama creates largest protected marine area in Hawaii

  

  United States President Barack Obama will dramatically expand the Papahnaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii on Friday, the White House said, an action that will ban commercial fishing from more than 1.5 million sq km of the Pacific Ocean.

• Monday, August 29th 2016 - 04:11 UTC

  Venezuela and Iran announce new “dynamic bilateral relations”

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro named Chief General Jesus Gonzalez as the country's new ambassador to Iran on Saturday, while announcing the beginning of a new dynamic era in Caracas-Tehran bilateral relations.

• Monday, August 29th 2016 - 03:59 UTC

  Court ruling and economy contraction push Argentine inflation down in August

  

  Inflation in Argentina during the current month of August could drop to 0.7% because of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the hikes in natural gas prices for residential users, according to the official stats office Indec. Similar stats also indicate a strong contraction of the Argentine economy.

• Sunday, August 28th 2016 - 03:59 UTC

  Eight Paraguayan soldiers executed by rural guerrillas following an attack on a patrol

  

  Eight Paraguayan soldiers died on Saturday in a rural roadside explosion, followed by execution of survivors, 500 kilometers north of the capital Asunción, the government said, blaming it on a criminal group which identifies itself as the EPP, acronym for Paraguayan People's Army.

• Sunday, August 28th 2016 - 03:56 UTC

  Rousseff takes the stand on Monday, following the round of defense witnesses

  

  Suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff's former economy minister testified Saturday that Rousseff did not break any laws justifying impeachment, as her trial closed in on next week's climax. Rousseff is accused of taking illegal state loans to help bridge budget shortfalls and mask the true state of the economy during her 2014 reelection campaign. The president argues the charges are trumped up and amount to a rightwing coup.

• Saturday, August 27th 2016 - 05:45 UTC

  Mercosur founding members confident of a solution to the Venezuela situation

  

  The foreign ministers of Mercosur founding members will adopt a common position regarding the current disarray of the group following on Venezuela's unilateral attitudes said Paraguayan economic affairs and integration deputy minister Rigoberto Gauto.

• Saturday, August 27th 2016 - 05:32 UTC

  Tierra del Fuego gas field inauguración suspended; Macri wants to attend

  

  The inauguration ceremony of the Vega Pléyade natural gas field offshore Tierra del Fuego scheduled for Friday, has been postponed, although no official explanation has been given, it is believed that Argentine President Mauricio Macri was determined to attend, but his political agenda is too full precisely over the energy controversy and the fact next week he flies to China for the G20 summit.

• Saturday, August 27th 2016 - 05:21 UTC

  NOAA “flying laboratory” scheduled to circle St Helena Island

  

  As part of an international study to be able to deliver more accurate weather forecasts across the South Atlantic, a United States NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) “flying laboratory” is planning to operate over St Helena this coming weekend, to undertake a series of weather-related measurements.