Politics

• Friday, January 27th 2012 - 11:39 UTC

  Rousseff signals clear difference with Lula da Silva in coming visit to Cuba

  

  Brazil issued a tourist visa to a dissident Cuban blogger a few days before President Dilma Rousseff is scheduled to travel to the Castro family island in a visit being dominated by human rights concerns.

• Friday, January 27th 2012 - 11:18 UTC

  Foreign Office has not discussed Gibraltar with new Spanish government

  

  Foreign Office Ministers have not discussed Gibraltar with the new Spanish Government, a Foreign Office spokesman said on Wednesday.

• Friday, January 27th 2012 - 11:12 UTC

  Scottish independence debate rattles across Europe fearing breakaway movements

  

  British diplomats are working behind the scenes to dampen down concern in Europe that Scotland's independence debate could trigger breakaway movements across the continent, reports the Herald Scotland.

• Friday, January 27th 2012 - 11:01 UTC

  Argentina promises soft credits for farmers to help address drought consequences

  

  The Argentine government agreed with the main farmers’ organizations to grant credits equivalent to 530 million dollars to help combat the drought that affects a large portion of the country and is extensive to neighbouring countries of the Southern Cone.

• Friday, January 27th 2012 - 02:51 UTC

  Argentine Senate and House of Commons absorbed by Falklands’ debate

  

  A new round of exchanges on the Falklands/Malvinas dispute took place on Thursday when an Argentine Senate Committee unanimously voted in favour of debating a declaration bill “strongly repudiating” British Prime Minister David Cameron’s “colonialist” statements, while a British minister accused Argentina of “sabre-rattling.”

• Friday, January 27th 2012 - 02:28 UTC

  Alicia Castro is Argentina’s ambassador to London; last posting was Venezuela

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández appointed Alicia Castro, 62, as ambassador to the United Kingdom, and the British government has accepted her credentials, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

• Thursday, January 26th 2012 - 19:05 UTC

  HMS Protector reaches Antarctica, visits Uruguayan and Argentine bases

  

  HMS Protector, the Royal Navy's new ice patrol ship, has arrived in Antarctica for the first time after her long sail south from Portsmouth. Her arrival, via Montevideo in Uruguay, coincided with the centenary of the Royal Navy's Captain Scott reaching the South Pole.

• Thursday, January 26th 2012 - 18:58 UTC

  MP proposes British Overseas Territories be represented in Westminster

  

  Conservative backbench MP Andrew Rosindell has called for the Isle of Man and other Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, including the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands to be represented in Westminster.

• Thursday, January 26th 2012 - 05:25 UTC

  Do you agree Scotland should be an independent country? Yes, but…

  

  Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said his planned referendum on independence will ask a simple question on whether the country should go it alone, though he didn’t rule out a third option of more power within the UK

• Thursday, January 26th 2012 - 05:02 UTC

  As demands pile up, Venezuela requests to leave World Bank arbitration court

  

  Venezuela’s government officially requested this week to leave the World Bank’s arbitration court as demands pile up from abroad for compensation following a decade of nationalizations under President Hugo Chavez.