Politics

• Monday, November 18th 2013 - 06:00 UTC

  Chile election: Bachelet and Matthei go to second round

  

  Left-wing candidate Michelle Bachelet has won the first round of voting in Chile's presidential election.She took 47% of the votes, against 25% for her main rival, Evelyn Matthei, a former Labour minister in the centre-right government of Sebastian Pinera. A second round of voting will take place on 15 December.

• Saturday, November 16th 2013 - 07:25 UTC

  Next Tuesday Venezuelan president Maduro will begin governing by decree

  

  Venezuela's legislature gave initial backing this week to a measure granting extraordinary powers over the economy to President Nicolas Maduro, which means next Tuesday, when the second vote, he will be able to govern by decree without having to seek parliamentary approval.

• Saturday, November 16th 2013 - 07:02 UTC

  Falklands new legislative pledges more transparency and communications with the public

  

  The recently elected Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly, the first to be full-time is breaking ground and has announced several changes to its functioning basically more transparency, televised sessions, showing how decisions are reached on key issues and MLAs views, and for this has decided to name two small working groups.

• Saturday, November 16th 2013 - 06:58 UTC

  Brazil's ex-president Jango Goulart remains receive full military honors 27 years later

  

  Brazil on Thursday paid homage to Joao Goulart, ousted as Brazilian president ahead of the 1964-85 military dictatorship, after his remains were exhumed to determine if he was poisoned. The exhumation took place at the Sao Borja cemetery near the Uruguayan and Argentine border, and flown to the capital Brasilia.

• Saturday, November 16th 2013 - 06:54 UTC

  Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon increased by a third over the past year

  

  Deforestation in the Amazon increased by nearly a third over the past year, according to Brazilian government figures released this week, confirming a feared reversal in what had been steady progress over the past decade against destruction of the world's largest rainforest.

• Friday, November 15th 2013 - 17:01 UTC

  EC calls on Spain and Gibraltar for a “constructive dialogue” and cooperation on border controls

  

  The European Commission called on Friday for daily cooperation between Gibraltar and Spain regarding the ongoing dispute over border controls and “encourages all relevant authorities to strengthen their constructive dialogue with their counterparts for this purpose”.

• Friday, November 15th 2013 - 16:27 UTC

  The anonymous millions of dollars spent in Chilean campaign donations

  

  It will come as no surprise to Chileans that some of the country’s biggest companies — and richest families — have donated millions of dollars to presidential and parliamentary campaigns this election season. However, until an investigative report was published last week, people were only able to speculate on the matter, as a law passed in 2003 allows donors and donations to remain completely anonymous.

• Thursday, November 14th 2013 - 21:45 UTC

  British painter Bacon triptych becomes most expensive artwork sold at auction

  

  A painting by Francis Bacon of his friend and fellow artist Lucian Freud has become the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction after it fetched 142 million dollars in New York. The triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969), is considered one of Bacon's greatest masterpieces.

• Thursday, November 14th 2013 - 21:39 UTC

  EU approves 2014 budget 7% lower; 62bn Euros to stimulate growth and jobs

  

  The European Union has clinched a deal on a sharply trimmed 2014 budget after a marathon 16-hour session ending a long dispute over how best to spend taxpayers' money. After decades of growth, next year's EU budget is set to be around 7% lower than this year's at 135.5 billion Euros in contributions by member states.

• Thursday, November 14th 2013 - 19:58 UTC

  UK becomes observer of the Pacific Alliance, announces Chilean foreign minister

  

  Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno has said that the UK has been granted Observer Status of the Pacific Alliance. The announcement was made by Moreno during his recent visit to Europe. The Pacific Alliance is made up of Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico and is consolidating as the fastest growing group in the region.