Politics

• Saturday, January 3rd 2015 - 05:51 UTC

  Battle of the Falkland Islands centennial commemorated with £2 coin issue

  

  The Falkland Islands Government & Treasury have issued a new £2 coin which commemorates the Centennial of the Battle of the Falkland Islands. At the start of World War I in 1914, the Falkland Islands was an important strategic naval base that allowed crucial control of the British Royal Navy of the South Atlantic and the Magellan Strait connecting with the Pacific.

• Saturday, January 3rd 2015 - 05:43 UTC

  We have so much to learn from Cuba

  

  By Robert F Kennedy Jr. (*) - In early December, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than five decades of a misguided policy which my uncle, John F. Kennedy, and my father, Robert F. Kennedy, had been responsible for enforcing after the U.S. embargo against the country was first implemented in October 1960 by the Eisenhower administration.

• Friday, January 2nd 2015 - 05:33 UTC

  Pope calls for end to modern slavery and human trafficking in first 2015 Mass

  

  In his first mass of 2015 Pope Francis has urged people of all religions and cultures to unite to fight modern slavery and human trafficking, saying that everyone had a God-given right to be free. The service at St. Peter's Basilica marks the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace. This year's theme is “No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters.”

• Friday, January 2nd 2015 - 05:19 UTC

  Venezuela takes its seat at the UN Security Council replacing Argentina

  

  As of January first Venezuela is holding a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for two years (2015-2016). In such position, the government will have to take a stance on global issues, based on its “multi-center, pluri-polar world” approach.

• Thursday, January 1st 2015 - 05:24 UTC

  Rousseff begins second term promising economic recovery and anti-corruption crusade

  

  Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, 67, began her second term Thursday, January first vowing to rein in government spending to curb inflation and pull Latin America’s largest economy out of a four-year slump.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 05:31 UTC

  Brazil limits social benefits; admits it will miss 2014 fiscal target by wide margin

  

  The Brazilian government announced it will limit unemployment and pension benefits as part of its plans to shore up depleted finances and regain investor confidence. Likewise the Central bank said that following a fourth year of low growth, Brazil will miss its fiscal target for 2014 by a wide margin.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 03:48 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez travels to the south; ankle fracture convalescence could take over a month

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who is suffering from a broken ankle, left on Tuesday afternoon for Calafate in Santa Cruz province, after doctors allowed her to travel. She plans to spend New Year with the family and in good spirits twitted about the authorization, presented her smallest pet, a toy-caniche “Lolita” and announced that small pets will be allowed to travel in all domestic Aerolineas and Austral flights.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 03:17 UTC

  Venezuela has world's second highest homicide rate: 24.980 killings in the year

  

  Venezuela has the second highest homicide rate in the world, according to a report released by the NGO Venezuelan Violence Observatory. The country's homicide rate for 2014 stood at 82 per 100,000, with a total of 24,980 killings recorded for the year. The figure marked an uptick from the group’s estimate for the year prior, which stood at 79 per 100,000.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 02:33 UTC

  Legal framework to restructure sovereign debts receives strong UN boost

  

  The U.N. General Assembly approved this week the financing of a plan to develop a new legal framework to restructure national debts, a move aimed at avoiding the kind of speculative action that led Argentina to a second default.

• Wednesday, December 31st 2014 - 00:46 UTC

  Mujica and Vazquez will attend Rousseff's inauguration on January first

  

  Uruguay's president Jose Mujica and elected president Tabare Vazquez will attend the inauguration, on January first, of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff second consecutive mandate in Brasilia. The two leaders received an official invitation from the Rousseff administration according to Uruguay's official media.