President Barack Obama's administration ceded ground last week in the US war on drugs, saying it will not dispute the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington states. The decision was swiftly hailed by campaigners for the legalization of a substance that, under federal law, remains a Schedule One controlled substance on a par with heroin.
Suriname opposition legislators have called on President Desi Bouterse to resign as well as to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest of his son by United States law enforcement authorities in Panama earlier this week.
President Juan Manuel Santos ordered troops to patrol Bogota and Colombia's highways on Friday, after violent protests in support of striking farmworkers left two dead.
Pope Francis and his orthodox reform approach sets a new tone for a Vatican beset by scandals by naming a veteran diplomat as secretary of state, a role often called the “deputy pope”.
Falkland Islands member of the Legislative Assembly Dick Sawle will be in Montevideo 2-6 September, after spending a week in Brazil involved in business, academia and informal political contacts sponsored by the Foreign Office. In Uruguay according to the official release MLA Sawle will inform about business opportunities with the Falklands and to strengthen the historical ties with Uruguay.
Brazil’s economy expanded 1.5% in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the previous three month, exceeding the most optimistic market expectations, official statistics showed Friday. The farm sector fared best, growing 3.9%, followed by industry with 2% and services 0.8% according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) website.
Chilean Foreign minister Alfredo Moreno said that flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentina can access the Chilean domestic market whenever they wish, discarding any impediments or veto to such an option.
An Argentine lawmaker claims that the US oil corporation Chevron which is investing heavily in developing shale resources in Neuquen with YPF is a partner of Oil Spill Response Limited that is also involved with the oil companies operating in the South Atlantic in Argentine waters but licensed by the Falkland Islands government.
Paraguay and Venezuela presidents Horacio Cartes and Nicolas Maduro met on Friday for over half an hour following the mediation of Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff during the Unasur summit taking place in Paramaribo, Suriname. The meeting was made official by the Paraguayan presidency office and twits from the Planalto Palace, seat of the Brazilian executive.
Spain plans to fine bunkering companies operating in Gibraltar waters sums of up to two million Euros and the Finance ministry was planning to ban the sale of petroleum products to the Rock, particularly since they pay no VAT.