Politics

• Saturday, March 21st 2015 - 05:07 UTC

  St Helena names South African airline preferred bidder for when airport opens next year

  

  A South African airline operator has been named the favorite to provide an air service for St Helena when its first airport opens early in 2016. But Comair, which also operates budget flights as kulula.com, will only offer flights to Johannesburg in South Africa, despite strong calls for a direct service to Europe.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 08:23 UTC

  Venezuela condemns US 'tyrannical” attempts in New York Times full page ad

  

  Venezuela has placed a full page ad in The New York Times decrying what it charges are “tyrannical” attempts by the US government to undermine its socialist system. The ad declaring that “Venezuela is not a threat” comes amid mounting tensions between the two countries after President Nicolás Maduro this month accused Washington of plotting to oust him and ordered the US Embassy in Caracas to slash staffing levels.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 08:18 UTC

  Israel honors Nisman on bombing anniversary; crowd calls Argentine officials 'scoundrels'

  

  Israel honored the figure of Argentine former special prosecutor Alberto Nisman during the Thursday ceremony in Buenos Aires to mark the 23rd anniversary of the 1992 attack on the Israel Embassy that claimed the life of 22 people and injured dozens.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 08:03 UTC

  US website to honor Nisman has among its sponsors the head of a hedge fund in litigation with Argentina

  

  A Washington-based think-tank launched a website and award to honor the memory of late AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman yet its founders raised a few eyebrows as they include someone who has an ongoing court case and regularly spoken ill of Argentina.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 07:57 UTC

  Argentine government claims Nisman could have committed “embezzlement and bribery” crimes

  

  The Argentine government leading spokesperson launched another furious (smear) attack on the late AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman, alleging he committed federal crimes if he spent government funds in prostitutes and champagne, and kept part of the salaries of his staff.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 07:26 UTC

  Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson 'fracas' incident report nearing conclusion

  

  The BBC's report into Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson is to be handed over to the director general next week. The internal investigation into Clarkson's suspension, following a “fracas” with a producer, will be considered by Tony Hall next week.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 07:19 UTC

  Brazil's Real drops to lowest since April 2003; loss of 17% against the dollar this year

  

  No end to Brazil's economic woes: the Brazilian currency depreciated 2.7% on Thursday, at 3.30 Reales to the US dollar, its worst performance since April 2003. With this loss of ground the Real cut short a three day recovery, because since last Monday it had been climbing against the greenback.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 07:12 UTC

  Names of Argentines with HSBC offshore accounts in Switzerland to be made public

  

  Argentina will move forward with its investigation of the HSBC offshore accounts in Switzerland, and will make public the names of those Argentine citizens and organizations that held money overseas in the financial entity, allegedly with the purpose of eluding local taxes.

• Friday, March 20th 2015 - 07:05 UTC

  Ten people killed as small chartered plane crashes few minutes after takeoff in Uruguay

  

  Ten people have been reported dead when a small chartered airplane with Argentine plates crashed Thursday night after taking off at the Laguna del Sauce airport, near the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este. Rescue teams and fire personnel confirmed at least seven charred bodies.

• Thursday, March 19th 2015 - 08:33 UTC

  Almagro pledges an end to OAS fragmentation and a hemisphere without exclusions

  

  Uruguay's former Foreign minister Luis Almagro was elected on Wednesday by the member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) as Secretary General for the next five years, during the XLIX Special General Assembly held at the OAS headquarters in Washington DC.