Politics

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 09:14 UTC

  Pope addresses one million faithful and calls for dialogue and inclusion at all levels

  

  Pope Francis called for dialogue in front of nearly one million people at an outdoor mass in Ecuador's capital, before launching an appeal for better care of the Amazon. The pope addressed over 900,000 faithful who braved the cold and rain to hear his homily in Bicentennial Park, Quito -- a city recently rocked by anti-government protests.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 08:30 UTC

  Carnival cruises to Cuba expected for next May; waiting for Havana green light

  

  Carnival Corporation, the world's biggest travel and leisure firm, plans to launch cruises to Cuba in May, following the historic thaw between the Castro brothers nation and the United States. US Treasury Department and Commerce Department granted the company approval for the plans, Carnival announced Tuesday, though it has yet to receive Cuban authorization.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 08:12 UTC

  Grexit Day next Sunday, Euro Zone members warn Tsipras

  

  Euro zone members announced on Tuesday that they have given Greece until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe's currency bloc and into economic ruin.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 08:03 UTC

  Obama calls Merkel and Tsipras calling for constructive talks

  

  President Barack Obama on Tuesday analyzed the Greek situation in separate telephone calls to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the White House said. Obama began his day with a phone conversation with Merkel, followed by another call to Tsipras.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 07:50 UTC

  World Bank claims there's 'no crisis in Latin America', but poverty still prevails

  

  The World Bank’s Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jorge Familiar, praised the region’s implementation of economic reforms, claiming that they had led to poverty reduction in the last few years, but he also warned that its pace was decreasing.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 07:37 UTC

  Dilma rejects any suggestion of stepping down and blames “a bunch of coup mongers”

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said in an interview published Tuesday in the daily Folha de Sao Paulo that there's no reason she should be ousted, so she has no fear being removed. Rousseff went further and accused certain sectors of the opposition of being “a bunch of coup mongers”.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 07:21 UTC

  Chile official involved in 2018/2022 World Cup inspections, suspended by FIFA

  

  The official chosen by FIFA to inspect 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting candidates was banned from football for seven years for breaking ethics rules. FIFA’s ethics committee gave no reason for its decision to suspend Harold Mayne-Nicholls, a former president of Chile’s soccer federation who is disputing the sanction.

• Wednesday, July 8th 2015 - 07:02 UTC

  Malvinas conflict former soldiers' claim to pension denied by Supreme Court for lack of combat evidence

  

  Argentina's Supreme Court in what is considered a lead case on Tuesday ruled contrary to Malvinas war pensions for the former soldiers who served with the Eighth Mechanized Infantry regiment, based in Comodoro Rivadavia during the 1982 conflict, because they were never involved in combat or participated in the Military Operations Theatre.

• Tuesday, July 7th 2015 - 08:06 UTC

  Pope said Mass to 650.000 people and centered the homily on the family theme

  

  Pope Francis said Mass for more than 650.000 Ecuadoreans and hinted he wanted a major Vatican gathering this year to find ways to reach out to Catholics who feel excluded by the Church. On the first full day of a three-nation “homecoming” trip to South America, the Argentine-born pontiff was in Ecuador's second city Guayaquil, a steamy port sometimes referred to as the world's “banana capital,” given its bustling fruit trade.

• Tuesday, July 7th 2015 - 07:48 UTC

  Caricom supports Guyana in border dispute with Venezuela, but there's also Petro Caribe

  

  The chairman of a 15-member Caribbean trade bloc said over the weekend that he backs Guyana's government amid an escalating border dispute with neighboring Venezuela. Freundel Stuart spoke at a press conference as Caricom leaders ended a three-day summit in Barbados.