Politics

• Wednesday, May 16th 2012 - 01:03 UTC

  President Rousseff happy and supportive of the 2 dollars Real

  

  The Brazilian Real dropped past 2 per dollars for a second day as President Dilma Rousseff said it has been “extremely overvalued,” encouraging speculation the currency of Latin America’s biggest economy may fall further.

• Wednesday, May 16th 2012 - 00:59 UTC

  Deadly attack against former minister in the heart of Bogotá kills 2, injures dozens

  

  A bomb targeting a hard-line former Colombian interior minister killed two of his bodyguards and injured at least 31 others in the heart of Bogotá’s uptown commercial district Tuesday, authorities said.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 15:53 UTC

  Economy receives Hollande with anaemic performance: zero growth in Q1

  

  France's economy stalled in the first quarter as household consumption flat lined, businesses pared back investment and exports slowed, underlining the challenge facing Socialist President Francois Hollande who took office on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 15:47 UTC

  Hollande names parliamentary leader and Germany expert as Prime Minister

  

  French President Francois Hollande named veteran Socialist parliamentary leader and Germany-expert Jean-Marc Ayrault as prime minister on Tuesday, an appointment which may help smooth negotiations with Berlin on tempering austerity in Europe.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 15:40 UTC

  New elections in Greece; Hollande flies to meet with Merkel in Berlin

  

  Attempts to form a government in Greece collapsed on Tuesday rattling financial markets at the prospect of extremist parties opposed to the terms of an EU bailout could sweep to victory and push the Euro zone crisis into a dangerous new phase.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 08:35 UTC

  Argentine Vice-president and business partners charged with embezzlement

  

  Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou, his girlfriend the journalist Agustina Kampfer, his personal friend and business partner José María Nuñez Carmona, and the Belgian citizen and businessman Alejandro Vandenbroele, were charged on Monday of embezzlement by Federal Prosecutor Jorge Di Lello.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 08:30 UTC

  Hollande is sworn as French president and flies to talks with Merkel in Berlin

  

  Socialist Francois Hollande is to be sworn as France's president Tuesday before naming a prime minister and dashing to Germany to battle with Berlin over how to tackle Europe's debt crisis.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 08:25 UTC

  Argentina further delays the dredging of a River Plate canal vital for Uruguay

  

  Argentina formally requested Uruguay to jointly audit the River Plate Administrative Commission, CARP for alleged corruption claims involving the maintenance of the Martin Garcia canal, and which emerged in the Uruguayan press.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 08:16 UTC

  Italian lawmakers support “a more relevant role” for Argentina in the Malvinas dispute

  

  Forty-eight Italian senators and lawmakers expressed their public support for Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands in a letter sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Argentine Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

• Tuesday, May 15th 2012 - 08:09 UTC

  Argentina’s top journalists demand “we want to ask” and list the ten issues ‘banned’ by CFK

  

  Tens of leading Argentine journalists gathered in Buenos Aires in a television program where each of them was invited to make public what question they would like to ask President Cristina Fernandez in obvious reference to the difficulties to have access to the Argentine head of state and her very limited contact with the press.