Politics

• Saturday, October 12th 2013 - 22:24 UTC

  Falklands: G24 Caribbean member PM visits Argentina, special guest of Cristina Fernandez

  

  Argentine Vice-president and acting President Amado Boudou, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, other cabinet ministers and lawmakers met this week with Saint Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Everard Gonsalves, on an official invitation to visit the country to thank the Caribbean leader for his support in the Malvinas cause.

• Saturday, October 12th 2013 - 22:11 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil blast IMF for its excess of pessimism regarding emerging economies

  

  Argentina and Brazil strongly questioned the IMF generalized “excess of pessimism” because of a slowing down in emerging economies but also underlined that these countries have the sufficient ‘training’ and recent experience to confront the new challenges.

• Saturday, October 12th 2013 - 22:08 UTC

  IMF calls for financial markets to be monitored by political supervision

  

  Central banks should be independent in setting monetary policy but they should also be tasked with monitoring financial market stability under political supervision, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) chief economist said.

• Saturday, October 12th 2013 - 22:03 UTC

  Nobel Peace Prize to anti-chemical weapons polarizes the Syrian conflict

  

  Efforts to eliminate chemical weapons won a Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for the global watchdog trying to destroy Syria's stockpiles of nerve gas and other poisonous agents. By giving its prestigious prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Norwegian Nobel Committee turned the spotlight both on Syria's devastating civil war and on a type of weapon that has horrified nations since World War I.

• Saturday, October 12th 2013 - 21:55 UTC

  Argentina denies having set any ultimatum regarding the pulp mill controversy with Uruguay

  

  The Argentine Foreign ministry denied on Friday it had given a two-day ultimatum to Uruguay to suspend the decision allowing the controversial Botnia/UPM pulp mill a production expansion and also demanded an immediate return to bilateral negotiations.

• Friday, October 11th 2013 - 18:24 UTC

  Three million Spaniards living in extreme poverty, and becoming chronic says Caritas

  

  The number of Spaniards living in severe poverty has doubled to 3 million since the economic crisis erupted in 2008, according to a report released by the Caritas charity, taking as poverty line those who live on less than 307 €euros (414 dollars) a month.

• Friday, October 11th 2013 - 13:34 UTC

  Falklands’ government plans a memorial bust of Baroness Thatcher

  

  The Falkland Islands Government is in the process of commissioning a sculptor to create a memorial bust of Baroness Thatcher. The project follows a public consultation held in the Falkland Islands as to how best to commemorate the late Margaret Thatcher. The high number of responses received demonstrates the high regard in which she is held in the Falkland Islands.

• Friday, October 11th 2013 - 13:28 UTC

  Venezuela inflation soars to 49%; Maduro promises more dollars to help with imports

  

  Venezuela's annual inflation rate rose to 49.4% in September, from 45.4% in August. Consumer prices increased 4.4% month-on-month, the central bank said, compared with 3.0% in August. It was the highest annual rate since the Venezuelan government changed the formula used to calculate the figure five years ago.

• Friday, October 11th 2013 - 13:11 UTC

  Paraguay congress votes 10% export tax on grains and soybeans. Cartes expected to veto the bill

  

  A controversial bill imposing a 10% tax on grains and oil seeds exported in their natural state was finally approved by the Paraguayan congress. The bill presented in 2012 was passed in the Senate, rejected in the Lower House and again ratified by the Upper House, however Deputies could not round up the necessary 53 votes to again reject it.

• Friday, October 11th 2013 - 13:08 UTC

  HMS Lancaster seizes in the Caribbean cocaine and cannabis worth £58 million street-value

  

  Royal Navy HMS Lancaster has seized cannabis and cocaine with a street value of nearly £58 million while on operations in the Caribbean. The seizure took place over two incidents which came just days after each other, with Lancaster recovering cocaine weighing over 400 kilograms and almost 1.2 tons of marijuana.