Politics

• Tuesday, March 6th 2012 - 05:03 UTC

  Paraguay exports to Argentina plunge 70%; ‘mirror’ countermeasures considered

  

  Mercosur junior member Paraguay that is suffering the Argentine restrictions on imports and has seen its February exports plummet 70% is planning ‘mirror’ countermeasures but emphasizing on those products with greater impact for Argentina and lesser for Paraguay.

• Tuesday, March 6th 2012 - 04:51 UTC

  China increases defense budget to 100bn dollars; India says it is closer to 150bn

  

  China has announced it will increase defense spending by 11.2% in 2012, for the first time taking its annual military expenditure beyond 100 billion dollars as it puts in place plans to modernize its Army against the backdrop of an uncertain regional environment.

• Tuesday, March 6th 2012 - 01:00 UTC

  EU conservative governments openly support Sarkozy re-election, claims Spiegel

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed with other conservative European leaders to help President Nicolas Sarkozy in the French election campaign by spurning his Socialist challenger François Hollande, according to the German media Spiegel.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 23:58 UTC

  Brazil sends letter to Blatter: no dealings with FIFA’s Valcke: he’s a bum

  

  Brazil's Sports minister says he has delivered a letter telling FIFA that it won't deal with Secretary General Jerome Valcke during the country's preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 23:47 UTC

  Wikileaks suspect suffered “cruel and degrading” treatment, says UN rapporteur on torture

  

  US authorities’ treatment of WikiLeaks suspect Private Bradley Manning was “cruel and degrading,” the UN special rapporteur on torture Juan Ernesto Mendez said Monday.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 23:12 UTC

  US warns Argentina could loose trade benefits for not complying international investment rulings

  

  United States could soon suspend trade benefits for Argentina warned on Monday an official from the Department of Commerce. US accuses Argentina of not paying awards in two long-running investment disputes with US companies following rulings from an international tribunal.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 20:11 UTC

  Argentina trade restrictions cut Uruguayan exports by almost half in February

  

  Uruguayan exports to Argentina during the month of February plummeted 46.6% compared to the same month a year ago according to Uruguay’s Union of Exporters, which attributes the poor performance to the imports restrictions imposed by the neighbouring country.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 19:32 UTC

  Spanish unemployment keeps rising; dispute with the EC over the deficit target

  

  The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Spain rose by 112.269 in January, taking the overall figure to 4.7 million. Spain’s unemployment rate stands at 22.9%, the highest in the 17-nation Euro-zone.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 06:10 UTC

  Mercosur countries to agree on a common protocol for vessels from the Falklands

  

  Mercosur country members are scheduled to hold a meeting in Rio do Janeiro to agree on a common protocol for all vessels originating in the Falkland Islands and calling at regional ports, announced Uruguay’s Defence minister Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 06:04 UTC

  Change in Argentine policy is “an attempt to collect support and look less mean”

  

  The apparent change in Argentine policy towards the Falkland Islands by offering three direct flights to the Islands from Buenos Aires instead of cutting the air link with Chile, as had been anticipated, was described by Chilean diplomatic sources as “an attempt to collect international support and look less mean”.