Politics

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 06:26 UTC

  Mercosur faces “great problems and internal divisions” making talks with EU “difficult”

  

  French Foreign Trade minister Nicole Bricq said that there are “great problems” in the current negotiations between the EU and Mercosur to reach an association agreement which also includes a free trade chapter.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 06:18 UTC

  Hague says Assange rights protected by Sweden, UK, EU and international law

  

  UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that any suggestion of a risk of breach for Julian Assange’s human rights on extradition to Sweden is completely unfounded and recalled that international, EU and UK law fully address the concerns raised by Assange and by the Government of Ecuador.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 06:15 UTC

  Rousseff comes out in defence of a very much questioned Lula da Silva legacy

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has come out in defence of her predecessor and political mentor Lula de Silva who was the target of strong criticisms from another former president Fernando Enrique Cardoso.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 05:53 UTC

  Colombia’s FARC pledge to join peace talks “without hatred or arrogance”

  

  Colombia's FARC rebel leader said the group would join peace talks with the government “without hatred or arrogance” in its first response to President Juan Manuel Santos' announcement of imminent negotiations.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 01:44 UTC

  Falklands’ referendum a “parody”: like asking the Argentines “if they want to remain Argentine”

  

  Argentine Defence minister Arturo Puricelli strongly criticized the announced referendum the Falkland Islands government is scheduled to hold next March which he described as a ‘parody’ and “entirely lacking imagination and creativity”.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 01:31 UTC

  Mingling with ordinary people from a distance can have its problems for Cristina Fernandez

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has taken a taste for video conferences and likes, with electronic distance, to mingle with ordinary people while opening major work. However things can also go wrong or don’t work out as planned.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 01:17 UTC

  Since 2003 an estimated 261bn dollars have fled from Greece, says NGO

  

  Greek nationals have deposited overseas an estimate 261 billion dollars from illegal activities, from tax evasion and elusion to criminal actions or simple from rampant corruption, according to economist and head of the Non Government Organization, Global Financial Integrity, Raymond Baker.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 00:31 UTC

  Poll shows Germans want Greece out of the Euro; doubts about reforms’ implementation

  

  Only about a quarter of ordinary Germans are in favor of debt-stricken Greece remaining in the Euro area, a poll published by the Financial Times on Monday indicated. It revealed strong reluctance to grant Greece yet another bailout installment.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 00:20 UTC

  Growing fears China is slowing down faster than estimated

  

  China's manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low in August, adding to fears that its economy is slowing faster than estimated. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.2, the lowest reading since November 2011, data released over the weekend showed.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 00:12 UTC

  Colombia confirms economic policy as it prepares for peace process

  

  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos named close ally Federico Renjifo as energy and mining minister in part of a Cabinet shuffle as the leader begins pursuing a peace process with FARC rebels.