Politics

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 16:34 UTC

  The Times comes strongly in support of Gibraltar’s wish to be ruled from Britain

  

  An editorial entitled ‘Spain should respect Gibraltarians’ wish to be ruled from Britain’ The Times on Tuesday sent one of its firmest views expressed in recent decades calling on Spain to form their policies around the concept of consent.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 16:17 UTC

  Vatican bank opens its books to comply with ‘honest and transparent’ promise

  

  The Vatican bank opened its web site www.ior.va on Wednesday as it steps up efforts to improve its tarnished image after a succession of financial scandals and repeated criticisms of its lack of transparency.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:31 UTC

  Paraguay downplays Mujica’s warning calling for a ‘pragmatic’ return to Mercosur

  

  Paraguay’s incoming government foreign policy advisor Eladio Loizaga downplayed Mercosur veiled warning calling for a quick return of the country to the block because ‘Paraguay is landlocked and needs the Parana River and the River Plate to reach the sea’.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:23 UTC

  Paraguay president Franco congratulates Mujica on his knowledge of geography

  

  Paraguayan president Federico Franco replied to his Uruguayan peer Jose Mujica ironic remarks saying that ‘evidently he’s good at geography; I guess he passed with the highest grades’ since he is aware that Paraguay is a landlocked ‘Mediterranean’ country.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:14 UTC

  UN calls on Chile to stop using anti-terrorism law against indigenous Mapuches

  

  A United Nations investigator on Tuesday urged Chile’s government to stop using an anti-terrorism law against Mapuche Indians who are fighting to recover their ancestral land.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:09 UTC

  Ecuador’s Correa pondering whether to join Mercosur or the Pacific Alliance

  

  President Rafael Correa said that the determining factor for Ecuador to join as full member of Mercosur or the Alliance of the Pacific is the ‘flexibility’ granted in certain admission conditions, taking into account the fact that Ecuador does not have a national currency.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:49 UTC

  In Mexico, Latam second largest economy over half the are catalogued as poor

  

  Poverty in Mexico, including extreme cases, decreased slightly between 2010 and 2012, reported the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy. Official stats show that poverty in Mexico, Latam’ second largest economy went from 46.1% of the population in 2010 to 45.5% in 2012, while extreme poverty fell from 11.3% to 9.8%.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:43 UTC

  Assange criticizes Pte Manning’s conviction as a ‘dangerous precedent”

  

  Julian Assange, founder of the anti-secrecy organisation Wikileaks, has said the conviction of US Army Private Bradley Manning on spying charges is a “dangerous precedent”.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:12 UTC

  Insulza meets Hague and presents report on the Drug Problem in the Americas at Chatham House

  

  Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, on Tuesday presented in London the Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas during a forum organized by Chatham House in which political authorities and experts in the issue took part.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:05 UTC

  UK plans to expand education-exports industry and attract 90.000 extra overseas university students by 2018

  

  An ambitious strategy to expand United Kingdom’s education exports industry – revealed for the first time as worth £17.5 billion to the economy – has been published.