Politics

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 23:55 UTC

  Libor rates abuses: major shake up at Barclays’ and wider government inquiry into banking

  

  British Barclays’ group has promised a “root and branch review” of its business practices and announced the resignation of its chairman Marcus Agius. This follows Barclays' attempts to manipulate inter-bank lending rates, for which it was fined £290m.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 23:42 UTC

  Uruguay says it was Brazil that forced the incorporation to Mercosur of Venezuela

  

  The Uruguayan government revealed on Monday its disagreement with the way Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur was decided last Friday at the summit held in Mendoza, Argentina, and said “it was not the last word” since the process must be reviewed from a juridical point of view.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 23:36 UTC

  Jeremy Browne alerts Argentina against Falklands’ politicization of London Olympics

  

  In an interview to British newspaper Financial Times, United Kingdom’s Foreign Office Minister for South America, Jeremy Browne, alerted Argentina against the politicization of the London Olympics, set to begin on July 27th by bringing up claims over the Falklands.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 06:25 UTC

  Peña Nieto, the new face of the old PRI, next Mexican president

  

  Enrique Peña Nieto leads his rivals in exit polls of Mexico’s presidential election as he seeks to return the once-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party to power after a 12-year hiatus.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 06:19 UTC

  PM Cameron suggests referendum on UK’s conditions and EU membership

  

  British Prime minister David Cameron has indicated that a referendum on the United Kingdom’s conditions of European Union membership is increasingly likely, but ruled out one that offers voters a straight “in or out” choice.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 06:11 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez calls on regional unit to neutralize the global crisis

  

  President Cristina Fernández took to her Twitter account to say that “the fundamental goal in the unity of the region must be to make sure that the global crisis has the less kind of possible impact in the development of our nations.”

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 06:00 UTC

  OAS fact-finding mission on the Paraguayan situation arrives in Asuncion

  

  The Paraguayan government named a special committee of military, police and diplomatic officials to help avoid possible incidents of violence when the fact-finding delegation from the Organization of American States, arrives in Asuncion.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 05:53 UTC

  Rio do Janeiro and its spectacular landscape declared world heritage site

  

  Rio do Janeiro's iconic landscape, marked by soaring granite facades that drop into the ocean and white-sand beaches that go on for miles, is now an official world heritage site.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 05:32 UTC

  Catholic Church rapidly loosing ground to evangelists in Brazil

  

  Less than two-thirds of Brazilians identify as Catholics, marking a record decline in what is considered to be the world's largest Catholic country, new figures showed Friday.

• Monday, July 2nd 2012 - 05:22 UTC

  Gibraltar will never cede “an iota of sovereignty to Spain”, says Picardo

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has declared that he will never hand over “a grain of sand, a drop of water or a breath of air to Spain”. In an interview with the Spanish national press agency EFE, in Gibraltar House in London, Picardo regretted the “difficult relations with Spain” but reiterated that he would never cede “an iota of sovereignty to Spain.”