Politics

• Tuesday, March 18th 2014 - 02:24 UTC

  Brazil optimistic that Mercosur has reached a joint proposal for trade talks with the EU

  

  Mercosur will present a joint proposal to the European Union for a wide ranging trade agreement between the two blocks later this month, announced Brazil' Minister of Industry Mauro Borges, following a visit to Buenos Aires where he met with Economy minister Axel Kicillof and Industry minister Debora Giorgi.

• Tuesday, March 18th 2014 - 00:13 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez holds two-hour private meeting with the Pope and then flies to France

  

  President Cristina Fernández (with a sprained ankle in a boot) and Pope Francis shared on Monday a lunch which lasted two hours and a half at Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. It's the third time the Argentine head of state and Francis meet since he was elected pontiff one year ago.

• Monday, March 17th 2014 - 15:56 UTC

  FIFA top committee to address Qatar (Cup 2022) labor working conditions

  

  A new report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) exposes how far Qatar will go to deny workers their rights, ahead of a critical FIFA Executive Committee meeting on Thursday 20th March in Zurich.

• Monday, March 17th 2014 - 15:46 UTC

  PM Cameron suggests more devolution in fiscal matters if Scotland votes NO

  

  The Scottish Parliament could gain more power over tax if voters reject independence, said British Prime Minister. A No vote on September 18 is “not the end of line” for devolution, David Cameron told the Scottish Conservative party conference in Edinburgh.

• Saturday, March 15th 2014 - 08:25 UTC

  Despite inflation Astori argues that cutting government spending is not the solution

  

  It is a mistake to blame government expenditure for the increase of prices, as is the concept that inflation can be defeated by cutting government spending, said Uruguayan Vice-president and economist Danilo Astori, who argued that in many cases these funds are essential to finance public investments and social policies.

• Saturday, March 15th 2014 - 08:13 UTC

  Uruguay combats inflation with price agreements and reducing taxes on public utilities rates

  

  The Uruguayan government finalized on Friday a prices agreement with commerce and trade organizations to help bring down the third highest inflation of the region which is advancing at an almost two-digit pace. The package is to be completed with government fiscal 'sacrifice' such as the elimination of taxes on some public utilities rates.

• Saturday, March 15th 2014 - 08:06 UTC

  UN draft resolution states Crimea's Sunday referendum 'has no validity'

  

  A draft UN Security Council resolution declares that Sunday's planned referendum on Crimea's status “can have no validity” and urges nations and international organizations not to recognize it, according to a copy obtained by Reuters.

• Saturday, March 15th 2014 - 08:00 UTC

  Queen Michelle Bachelet is back, but that was the easy bit, says The Economist

  

  Michelle Bachelet became the first person since General Carlos Ibañez in 1952 to return to Chile’s presidential palace, La Moneda, for a second term. According to a recent official history of the building, the general was a stickler for fitness.

• Saturday, March 15th 2014 - 04:58 UTC

  Argentine government picks on Swire interview to attack opposition leaders

  

  Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich claimed that UK's preference to talk about the Falklands/Malvinas dispute with opposition presidential hopefuls, clearly means that “these leaders are willing to a greater flexibility regarding foreign interests in the dispute”.

• Saturday, March 15th 2014 - 04:51 UTC

  Creditor nations Paris Club and Argentina will begin debt discussions in May

  

  The Argentine government confirmed on Friday that the Paris Club of creditor nations have invited the country to start formal negotiations towards the end of May, apparently following on the proposal made by the Cristina Fernandez administration last January.