Politics

• Friday, May 11th 2012 - 00:16 UTC

  Brazilian navy successfully tests Exocet missile with engine manufactured in the country

  

  The Brazilian navy successfully tested an Exocet MM40 missile totally designed, developed and manufactured in the country by Avibras and with the support from the European group MBDA, partly owned by BAE Systems.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 20:03 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez looks for new friends: Hollande and Putin

  

  Argentina’s Cristina Fernández spoke to French president- elect François Hollande and newly elected Russian president Vladimir Putin to congratulate them on their wins and agreed to meet them both in the next G20 meeting in Mexico.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 19:52 UTC

  Brazilian strategy to lower value of its currency seems to be working

  

  Investors pulled 1 billion dollars out of Brazil last week as Euro-zone debt fears continue to spook markets and the Brazilian government shows little sign of changing its hefty intervention policies.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 19:43 UTC

  US April jobless figure drops to lowest since July 2008; unemployment, 8.1%

  

  The number of Americans submitting new applications for jobless benefits edged down last week, easing concerns the labour market was deteriorating after April's weak employment growth.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 16:13 UTC

  Argentine government re-activates national committee of Malvinas combatants

  

  The Argentine government reactivated the National Committee of former Malvinas combatants which will support legal actions against crimes committed by Argentine officers during the 1982 conflict and demand DNA tests to identify the 123 remains buried in the Darwin cemetery in the Falklands.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 05:28 UTC

  Spain takes over fourth largest bank to try and calm markets

  

  Spain took over Bankia, the country's fourth biggest lender, on Wednesday, trying to dispel concerns over the government's ability to clean up the financial sector four years after the banks were hit by a property market crash.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 05:16 UTC

  Brazilian Senate approves ‘Budweiser bill’ ending dispute with FIFA over World Cup sponsoring

  

  The Brazilian senate approved a bill Wednesday giving FIFA the guarantees needed to organize the 2014 World Cup. The approval came just a day after the Brazilian government met with FIFA officials in Switzerland to discuss the country's preparations and resolve their differences.

• Thursday, May 10th 2012 - 04:47 UTC

  Unasur members open their defence budgets and spending to peers

  

  The twelve countries members of the Union of South American nations, Unasur have for the first time opened to their peers defence budgets and how much they spend on the military, helping confidence building, according to reports from the group’s Secretary General Office.

• Wednesday, May 9th 2012 - 21:09 UTC

  Spanish government has abandoned the Trilateral Forum, claims Gibraltar

  

  The Gibraltar Government issued a statement on Tuesday saying it took note of comments made by Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo indicating the Spanish government is abandoning the Trilateral Forum which involved three-side talks: Spain, UK and Gibraltar.

• Wednesday, May 9th 2012 - 20:56 UTC

  Mercosur “going through its worst moment in history” claims Uruguay

  

  Uruguay’s Vice-president Danilo Astori said Mercosur is going through its worst moment in history because some of its members in practical terms “are denying the most basic principles”.