Politics

• Friday, January 13th 2012 - 19:51 UTC

  Obama asks Congress for a 1.2 trillion dollars increase in US debt limit

  

  US President Barack Obama formally notified Congress that he plans a 1.2 trillion dollars increase in the US debt limit, setting the stage for Republicans to level election-year charges that deficits are out of control.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 21:31 UTC

  Argentina and IMF moving closer, admit holding regular bilateral contact

  

  Speaking at a press conference from Washington DC on Thursday, IMF acting director of External Relations Gerry Rice said the organization’s directors “will meet in late January or early February to analyze the progress made in Argentina’s statistics”.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 21:21 UTC

  Argentine industry ‘under risk with new ‘super-license’ imports’ system

  

  While Argentina’s Mercosur trade partners have adopted a cautious attitude regarding the latest measures that make it more cumbersome and bureaucratic to sell to Argentina, the country’s manufacturers and importers have warned of the consequences and called for a more balanced approach to the issue.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 18:12 UTC

  Nicaragua’s Ortega condemned killing of Gaddafi and offered a prayer for Hussein

  

  Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega lashed out at Israel and condemned the killing of former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi while being sworn into office this week alongside Iran and Venezuela presidents.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 18:10 UTC

  Iranian president from Cuba announces the “decay of the capitalist system”

  

  Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted capitalism during a speech at Cuba's University of Havana on the third leg of a trip to highlight friendship with Latin American allies, most of them at odds with Washington's.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 12:32 UTC

  Chile ratifies its position and denies existence of a Malvinas blockade

  

  Chile ratified this week that vessels flying the Malvinas flag will continue to be barred from Chilean ports and that the country’s position relative to the issue has not changed and denies the existence of a blockade. A brief statement from the Chilean Foreign Affairs ministry indirectly refers to the latest statement by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 12:31 UTC

  Uruguay’s position on barring Malvinas flagged vessels “has not changed an iota”

  

  In an official communiqué Uruguay ratified full support for Argentina’s Malvinas sovereignty claim and underlined that the barring of Malvinas’ flagged vessel from Uruguayan ports stands and “has not changed an iota”.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:20 UTC

  LAN Argentina regional flights forced out of Buenos Aires metropolitan terminal

  

  LAN Airlines announced that “due to a decision by the (Argentine) national aeronautical authorities,” the company has been forced to reschedule flights leaving from the Buenos Aires City Aeroparque Metropolitan airport bound for Sao Paulo and Santiago de Chile.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:19 UTC

  “We must be politically persistent” on our Malvinas claim, says CFK spokesperson

  

  As the UK applies pressure on Mercosur countries so they allow the entry to vessels flying the Malvinas flag, Argentine ruling Victory Front lawmaker Carlos Kunkel said on Wednesday that Argentina “must be politically persistent while maintaining a constant defence” on its claims over the sovereignty of the islands.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:17 UTC

  Fitch calls for greater support for Italy to prevent 'cataclysmic collapse' of the Euro

  

  The European Central Bank should ramp up its buying of troubled Euro zone debt to support Italy and prevent a “cataclysmic” collapse of the Euro, David Riley the head of sovereign ratings for Fitch, said on Wednesday.