Politics

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 22:15 UTC

  EU recession for the sixth consecutive quarter; France joins the club with 0.2% contraction

  

  Wednesday’s economic growth numbers make it official: the Euro zone is in its longest recession since records began in 1995. The 17-nation economy shrank by 0.2% between January and March, compared with last quarter's decline of 0.6%, deepening the bloc's recession as economic output fell for the sixth consecutive quarter.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 22:09 UTC

  Vatican promises transparency and annual reports from the scandal-hit IOR

  

  As part of ongoing efforts to promote transparency and chip away at the myths surrounding what is commonly called the Vatican bank, its new president announced it will have a website by the end of the year and will publish its annual report, according to the Catholic Sentinel.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 21:59 UTC

  Paraguay on Independence Day blasts Argentina and Brazil over “power resource exploitation”

  

  President Federico Franco said Paraguay has long cancelled its debts for the construction of two huge shared hydroelectric dams with its powerful neighbours and demanded Argentina pay for the surplus energy it receives and compensation for flooding Paraguayan territory.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 17:24 UTC

  Brazilian Finance ministry top official resigns after ten years in office

  

  Brazil's Deputy Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa, who helped design some of the government's flagship economic projects, has handed in his resignation for personal reasons and will leave the post in June, the ministry announced on Monday.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 07:46 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez pledges she will not propose any constitutional reform

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández defended her controversial judiciary reform and announced that deep reforms require “amendments to the Constitution”. However, she emphasized she would not push any initiative in that sense.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 07:38 UTC

  Allegations of a network of corruption money involves former president Kirchner

  

  Argentine and Uruguayan magistrates and prosecutors are investigating an alleged network of corruption money, and probably money laundering involving former president Nestor Kirchner and close political and business cronies some of which continue in key positions or proximity to current head of state Cristina Fernandez.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 07:32 UTC

  Argentina April inflation 23.67% in 12 months; partial prices-freeze to continue until October election

  

  Argentina’s inflation in April was 1.52% and 23.67% in the last twelve months according to the so called Congress index which is calculated by private agencies and was released on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 07:29 UTC

  Spain no longer discusses Argentina’s ‘sovereign decision to seek energy sector control”

  

  Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel García Margallo said the Spanish government is no longer “discussing” Argentina’s “sovereign decision to seek energy sectors’ control.” “It could seem to me a mistake, but it is the responsibility” of the Argentine government, García Margallo stated.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 07:24 UTC

  Uruguay awards French company contract for 1.2bn dollars re-gasification plant

  

  Uruguay awarded French gas and power group GDF Suez SA a contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification plant at an estimated cost of 1.125 billion dollars, the government said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, May 15th 2013 - 07:21 UTC

  Chinese Vice-president asks Venezuelan government for efficiency in joint-projects

  

  Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao on Tuesday asked the Venezuelan government for efficiency in managing an agro-industrial plant it has begun building near Caracas with a 52 million dollars investment from Beijing.