Politics

• 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”.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 06:00 UTC

  Falklands’ case triggers controversy in St Vincent and Grenadines

  

  The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves said that he does not regard himself as a “water carrier” or the “president of a fitness club”, as he defended his decision not to meet with two legislators from a “colonial country assembly” in reference to the Falkland Islands.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 05:56 UTC

  Inter American bank does not trust Argentine official stats, uses private estimates

  

  Argentina must solve the controversy over the measurement of inflation which has significant economic and political costs, said Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla the Inter American Development Bank, IADB, director for Argentina and Haiti.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 05:38 UTC

  Daily Telegraph readers’ poll says Falklands ‘should be returned’ to Argentina

  

  According to an ongoing opinion poll among readers of The Telegraph on line, over 55% believe the Falklands/Malvinas should be returned to Argentina, and an estimated 14% say the Islanders should hold a referendum to decide.