Politics

• 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.

• Tuesday, July 7th 2015 - 07:40 UTC

  Maduro recalls ambassador in Guyana: “Venezuela in under new forms of assault and aggression”

  

  President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday that he was recalling Venezuela's ambassador in neighboring Guyana for consultation amid mounting tensions over their disputed border. During an address to parliament, Maduro said that he also is initiating a comprehensive review of relations with much smaller Guyana and reducing the size of Venezuela's embassy there.

• Tuesday, July 7th 2015 - 07:21 UTC

  Merkel and Hollande tell Greece the door for serious proposals remains open

  

  France and Germany told Greece to come up with serious proposals in order to restart financial aid talks, raising pressure on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to compromise a day after his country voted overwhelmingly against more austerity

• Tuesday, July 7th 2015 - 07:11 UTC

  New Greek finance minister, Oxford educated but equally hard line

  

  New Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos may be less flamboyant than his predecessor Yanis Varoufakis, but his views on his country's debt crisis are no less stridently held. While most commentators appear to agree that Mr Tsakalotos, 55, will be less bombastic than Mr Varoufakis in his dealings with international creditors, some argue that his negotiating stance could even be more hard line.