Politics

• Tuesday, January 14th 2014 - 00:54 UTC

  Chile, Peru prepare as Hague Court sets to resolve territorial dispute

  

  With the decision over ongoing maritime dispute between Chile and Peru just weeks away, government officials on both sides insist relations between them are strong. On Jan. 27 Peru and Chile are set to find out who has legal ownership over 14,500 square miles of fishing waters off their borders, putting an end to a centuries-long dispute and ending a five year international court case.

• Tuesday, January 14th 2014 - 00:00 UTC

  Foreign Office stretched “almost to the limit”, warns Parliament: “a more realistic approach needed”

  

  The Foreign Office is being stretched “almost to the limit” as it attempts to cut spending at a time of international turbulence while having to cope with additional demands such as the London Olympics, MPs have said.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:35 UTC

  A frustrated Mujica calls for a readjustment of Mercosur legal framework

  

  Uruguayan president José Mujica said that members of Mercosur must readjust the block's legal framework ‘to make it work’ so that differences among its partners can be resolved in an institutional framework. He insisted on a review and amendment of mechanisms with greater flexibility and more adapted to current circumstances.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:27 UTC

  Nicaragua announces that construction of inter-ocean canal begins this year

  

  President Manuel Ortega said on Saturday that the construction of a massive inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua that could significantly alter global trade would start at the end of 2014. Ortega gave a Chinese group a concession to manage the future shipping channel for 50 years, with the possibility to renew the contract for another 50.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:01 UTC

  UK EU 2017 membership referendum clears first hurdle but triggers further controversy

  

  The Tory plan for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union cleared its first hurdle in the House of Lords last week. The Bill was given an unopposed second reading after a lengthy seven-hour debate in the Lords, in which more than 60 peers spoke.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:55 UTC

  Pope puts his stamp as he names 19 new cardinals, including his Buenos Aires successor

  

  Pope Francis put his first stamp on the group at the top of the Roman Catholic hierarchy naming 19 new cardinals from around the world. Sixteen of them are “cardinal electors” under 80 and thus eligible to enter a conclave to elect a pope. They come from Italy, Germany, Britain, Nicaragua, Canada, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Chile, Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Haiti.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:49 UTC

  Francis baptizes children of an unmarried couple and a from a single mother

  

  Pope Francis has baptized 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel and told their mothers to have no qualms about feeding them there. Two of the infants are the daughter of a couple that did not get married in the Catholic Church and a single mother's son.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:42 UTC

  Falklands' Scot Guards veterans donate a priceless crafted whiskey bottle

  

  Two 1982 Falkland Islands conflict veteran Scots Guards and the brother of the last man to be killed in action just 30 minutes before the surrender of the Argentine invaders on June 14 visited the Islands last week and made valuable donations to the Museum and the Cubs and Scout groups.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:10 UTC

  Maduro names new cabinet but main ministries remain unchanged

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appointed seven new ministers. His announcement was made during an event with the Movement for Peace and Life. Venezuela has been shocked by the extent of crime and killings, which means according to private organizations stats that only two out of ten cases ever are caught and face trial.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:04 UTC

  Argentine government struggling to stay on its feet, says The Economist

  

  The English business and finance weekly The Economist is no fan of Argentina's Cristina Fernandez but its articles have an expansive repercussion, and even when it does not add much to the current situation of Argentina, it does undoubtedly have a reference influence.