Politics

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 11:03 UTC

  Britain raises terrorism level to 'severe' in response to possible attacks

  

  Britain raised its terrorism threat level on Friday to “severe”, the second highest level, in response to possible attacks being planned in Syria and Iraq, Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May said.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 10:53 UTC

  Brazil in recession; Minister Mantega blames external factors and World Cup

  

  Brazil has fallen into recession, further weakening President Dilma Rousseff, just weeks before voting in what will be a tough re-election battle. Brazil's national statistics institute said Friday GDP shrank 0.6% in the second quarter and revised an initially positive first quarter growth estimate down to -0.2 percent.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 08:24 UTC

  Marina's advisors: economists graduated in Cambridge and MIT and the heir to Brazil's largest bank

  

  Two economists with graduate studies in Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a lawyer considered one of the most influential members of Congress and with a PhD from Oxford, plus the heir of a banking empire, the largest in Brazil, and philanthropist, are identified as the closest aides and advisors of Marina Silva, with increasing chances of becoming Brazil's next president in October.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 08:01 UTC

  Judge Griesa schedules new hearing; Argentina appeals to United Nations on holdout case

  

  The US judge overseeing litigation by Argentina and creditors who did not participate in the country's past debt restructurings scheduled a hearing to assess whether Citigroup Inc (C.N) should be forced to comply with a subpoena.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 07:27 UTC

  UK embassy in Chile hosted launching of the Oxford University Alumni Society

  

  The British Ambassador to Chile, Fiona Clouder, hosted a reception for the launch of the Oxford University Alumni Society. The event held at the British residence in Santiago was attended by current and former Oxford students, professors as well as other professionals interested in supporting the Society.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 07:10 UTC

  Venezuela cheap oil and fuel shipments to allies fall to a five-year low

  

  Venezuela’s shipments of crude oil and fuel to its allies have fallen to a five-year low as a weak economy hits its ability to uphold accords that former president Hugo Chávez struck to lower energy costs for friends and expand his diplomatic clout.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 07:07 UTC

  New World Bank delegate in Argentina; 'country strategy' to be considered next month

  

  The World Bank board of directors will be discussing sometime next month a new aid program for Argentina focused on combating poverty, but the loans approval can't be expected until next year, according to the bank's new representative in Argentina, Jesko Hentschel.

• Saturday, August 30th 2014 - 07:00 UTC

  Mercosur is a ‘success’; intra-trade has grown at double the world rate

  

  Mercosur is a success, intra-trade has expanded at double the rate of world trade and despite all the bad press, the block is advancing on other fields such as social affairs and citizenship, according to Ivan Ramalho, Mercosur's High Representative, who is a former Brazilian deputy minister of trade and development issues.

• Friday, August 29th 2014 - 08:07 UTC

  Singer extends 'discovery' looking for Argentine assets in Chinese banks

  

  As it did in Nevada and California, a unit of billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Management, which is Argentina's main holdout creditor, is extending its legal fight with the country to China. NML Capital served subpoenas this week to Bank of China (BOC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in an effort to obtain information on 6.8bn dollars in financing for deals signed by the two countries in July.

• Friday, August 29th 2014 - 06:46 UTC

  Mercosur main partners in another attempt to re-launch withering economies

  

  Argentine Economy minister Axel Kicillof left Buenos Aires on Thursday for Brazil, where he will meet with fellow ministers from the country to discuss the current situation of bilateral trade and the automotive industry.