Politics

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 05:57 UTC

  Chilean Lower House votes unanimously to end “copper law” that finances the military

  

  Chilean Defence Minister Andrés Allamand achieved this week a unanimous vote in the Chamber of Deputies for the proposal to change the funding system for the Armed Forces. The proposal, should it gain approval in the Senate, would put an end to the so-called “copper law,” which has been in effect since 1958.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 05:55 UTC

  Chile’s leaves basic rate unchanged at 5%; annual inflation in May, 3.1%

  

  Chile’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5% for a fifth consecutive month as inflation in the world’s top copper producer eased and unemployment continued to decline.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 05:54 UTC

  US foreign military sales already a record 50 billion dollars, up 70% from 2011

  

  US Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said that 2012 is already a record-breaking year for US foreign military sales, which are government-to-government sales.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 05:14 UTC

  C24 chair calls Falklands’ referendum ‘political ploy’; praises Argentine president

  

  The chair of the UN Decolonisation Committee Ecuadorian ambassador Diego Morejón Pazmiño described the UK announcement of a referendum in the Malvinas Islands as a “political ploy”, insisting that the Falkland Islanders can not appeal to the right of self determination.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 03:05 UTC

  Ireland’s banking advice to Spain: “imagine the worst and double it”

  

  Ireland has this banking advice for Spain: imagine the worst and double it. Like Ireland, Spain sought a bank bailout after being felled by a real-estate crash. Now, just as the Irish did, the Spanish are awaiting the results of outside stress tests gauging the size of the hole in the banking system.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 03:03 UTC

  “Who cares what an American official can think about the situation in Spain?”

  

  Economics Nobel prize (2011) Thomas Sargent admitted feeling “ashamed” when some officials from the US government make recommendations to Europe, Spain and other countries on what policies they should adopt to climb out of the current crisis.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 03:00 UTC

  Pitting the idea of growth against budgetary rigour is ‘simply rubbish’ says Merkel

  

  Germany's Angela Merkel regretted the lack of confidence among Euro leaders and warned against “mediocrity” as she stood firm against “growth quick fixes” to Europe's crisis.

• Saturday, June 16th 2012 - 02:53 UTC

  Paraguay landless peasants-police shootout kills 18; Army moves into the area

  

  Paraguay sent the Army after at least 18 people were killed and over eighty wounded, many of them seriously, on Friday in armed clashes that erupted when police tried to evict landless peasant farmers squatting a privately-owned farm in Paraguay, officials said.

• Friday, June 15th 2012 - 19:23 UTC

  Euro central banks prepared for any ‘Greek surprise’, anticipates Draghi

  

  The Euro zone economy faces serious risks and no inflation threat, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Friday in comments that heightened expectations the ECB could cut interest rates or take other policy action soon.

• Friday, June 15th 2012 - 19:20 UTC

  Modest gains in world markets waiting for the Greece’s Sunday election

  

  US stock were modestly higher as optimism over a possible coordinated action by major world central banks if Sunday's Greek election causes financial turmoil was tempered by a weak reading on domestic manufacturing.