Politics

• Monday, September 2nd 2013 - 12:35 UTC

  Venezuela and Guyana agree to resume border dispute negotiations under UN umbrella

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ended a one-day visit to Guyana on Saturday in a move that strengthens the relationship between the two countries that have had a long standing border dispute. The two countries have agreed to ask the Jamaica-born academic, Professor Norman Girvan to continue as the United Nations (UN) Good Officer as they seek to settle their border dispute.

• Monday, September 2nd 2013 - 12:17 UTC

  Majority of Britons support government policy on Gibraltar according to Spanish poll

  

  The dispute over Gibraltar figures low on the list of priorities for the average Spaniard, despite widespread media coverage and the fact that it taps into common feelings of national pride and identity, according to a survey conducted by the leading Spanish think tank Real Instituto Elcano both in Spain and the UK, and released on Sunday

• Monday, September 2nd 2013 - 12:00 UTC

  Maduro apologizes to Paraguay for any ‘pain’ caused and promises ‘to repair the error’

  

  Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro apologized to his peer Paraguayan peer Horacio Cartes for any ‘pain’ caused to Paraguay and promised a ‘sacrifice’ to repair the ‘error’, according to sources from both presidents and from Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff who sponsored the meeting between the two heads of state in the framework of the recent Unasur VII summit in Suriname.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 18:54 UTC

  Major change in US drugs policy: allows recreational cannabis on a ‘trust but verify’ approach

  

  President Barack Obama's administration ceded ground last week in the US war on drugs, saying it will not dispute the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington states. The decision was swiftly hailed by campaigners for the legalization of a substance that, under federal law, remains a Schedule One controlled substance on a par with heroin.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 18:03 UTC

  Unasur embarrassment: Suriname president’s son arrested by US on drug and arms trafficking

  

  Suriname opposition legislators have called on President Desi Bouterse to resign as well as to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest of his son by United States law enforcement authorities in Panama earlier this week.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 17:46 UTC

  Santos orders troops to patrol Bogotá as farm-protest reaches the capital

  

  President Juan Manuel Santos ordered troops to patrol Bogota and Colombia's highways on Friday, after violent protests in support of striking farmworkers left two dead.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 17:31 UTC

  Chronicle of a removal foretold: Francis names new ‘prime minister’

  

  Pope Francis and his orthodox reform approach sets a new tone for a Vatican beset by scandals by naming a veteran diplomat as secretary of state, a role often called the “deputy pope”.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 15:30 UTC

  Falklands’ lawmaker arrives in Uruguay to inform on business opportunities in the Islands

  

  Falkland Islands member of the Legislative Assembly Dick Sawle will be in Montevideo 2-6 September, after spending a week in Brazil involved in business, academia and informal political contacts sponsored by the Foreign Office. In Uruguay according to the official release MLA Sawle will inform about business opportunities with the Falklands and to strengthen the historical ties with Uruguay.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 02:01 UTC

  Sigh of relief for Mantega: Brazilian economy expands 1.5% in second quarter

  

  Brazil’s economy expanded 1.5% in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the previous three month, exceeding the most optimistic market expectations, official statistics showed Friday. The farm sector fared best, growing 3.9%, followed by industry with 2% and services 0.8% according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) website.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 01:50 UTC

  “Doors are open for Aerolíneas whenever they wish” Chile tells Argentina

  

  Chilean Foreign minister Alfredo Moreno said that flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentina can access the Chilean domestic market whenever they wish, discarding any impediments or veto to such an option.