Politics

• Saturday, December 12th 2015 - 04:18 UTC

  “Mama Merkel” or Euro-zone “austerity priestess”, the German chancellor is Time's person of the year

  

  Time magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as its person of the year for 2015, hailing her leadership during debt and refugee crises that threatened to tear the European Union apart. In power for a decade at the helm of Europe's biggest economy, the world's most powerful woman beat runners-up, the leader of the Islamic State extremist group and Donald Trump as Time's dominant personality of the year.

• Saturday, December 12th 2015 - 04:09 UTC

  Infantino will lead UEFA's Euro 2016 draw in Paris; Platini's 90 day ban stands

  

  Michel Platini cannot take part in UEFA’s Euro 2016 draw in Paris on Saturday after losing his appeal against a 90-day FIFA ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The decision Friday means he also won’t be able to participate in the UEFA Executive Committee meeting before the draw.

• Saturday, December 12th 2015 - 02:55 UTC

  All presidents confirmed attendance of Mercosur summit, including Macri and Maduro

  

  The presidents of Mercosur member-countries have confirmed attendance to the group's summit scheduled for next 21 December and hosted by Paraguay, the country that currently holds the rotating chair, according to diplomatic sources in Asuncion.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 19:42 UTC

  Venezuela's political scenario begins to look hostage of both sides' radicals

  

  Venezuela's outgoing National Assembly on Thursday tapped a judge who is hated by the opposition for jailing politician Leopoldo Lopez as the next human rights ombudsman in the increasingly hostile aftermath of legislative elections.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 12:04 UTC

  Venezuelan subsidized oil sales to the Petrocaribe program on a tight rope

  

  If the newly elected Venezuelan National Assembly votes to cancel that country's program of subsidized oil sales to Caribbean and Central American nations, the United States will not be able to substitute U.S. oil for Venezuelan oil, a senior U.S. official warned this week.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 11:54 UTC

  International banks commit 8bn dollars to the new Argentine administration

  

  The incoming government of Argentine president Mauricio Macri is about to receive its first financial boost from overseas, which according La Nacion sources could be in the range of 8 billion dollars.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 08:22 UTC

  “Obviously we will stand by all our sovereign claims”, anticipated Macri

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri outlined on Thursday his administration's foreign policy during the message to Congress when he stressed, with an overall non specific commitment, “we believe in the unity and cooperation of Latin America and the world”, and in strengthening democracy as the only possibility to solving the problems of diverse societies.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 08:00 UTC

  Macri pledges an open government, calls for unity and 'the art of agreement'

  

  Business friendly Mauricio Macri was sworn in on Thursday as Argentina's new president pledging an open and transparent government and issuing a call for unity among Argentines, leaving aside useless confrontation and arrogance, and putting all emphasis on learning “the art of agreement”.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 07:54 UTC

  Corruption among members of Brazil's congress is “across the board”

  

  Corruption among members of Brazil's Congress is 'across the board', involves most parties and the whole system, and as such the recent beginning of impeachment proceedings against president Dilma Rousseff is no exception.

• Friday, December 11th 2015 - 07:47 UTC

  Ban Ki-moon message on Human Rights Day

  

  Amid large-scale atrocities and widespread abuses across the world, Human Rights Day should rally more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles that we have collectively pledged to uphold.