Politics

• Thursday, February 23rd 2012 - 04:30 UTC

  Wife of former PM Blair began legal action over hacking of her private phone

  

  The wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has begun legal action over the alleged interception of her private phone messages, her lawyer said on Wednesday, making her the latest public figure to be drawn into a hacking scandal that has shaken the country's media.

• Thursday, February 23rd 2012 - 04:25 UTC

  Doubts about Chavez true health condition re-surface as he leaves for surgery in Cuba

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez imminent departure for more cancer surgery in Cuba has thrown his re-election campaign into uncertainty and once again shaken the populist leader's passionate supporters.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 18:19 UTC

  Train crash in Buenos Aires leaves 49 dead and at least 600 injured

  

  At least 49 people were killed and 600 injured after a train crashed early Wednesday morning while pulling into one of Buenos Aires main railway stations, city officials confirmed.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 17:33 UTC

  Brazil and Uruguay with the most expensive per capita Legislative branch

  

  Uruguay has the second most expensive per capita Legislative branch and also as a percentage of the government’s overall expenditure, although Uruguayan lawmakers earn half their best paid neighbours in Brazil, according to reports in the Montevideo press.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 17:21 UTC

  Royal Navy orders four 37.000 tons tankers to support renewed surface fleet and attack submarines

  

  A new generation of 37.000-tons tankers has been ordered for the Royal Navy fleet, the MoD announced Wednesday. The new Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers will maintain the Royal Navy’s ability to refuel at sea and will provide fuel to warships and task groups.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 16:33 UTC

  Cameron reaffirms to Rajoy 30.000 Gibraltarians right to self determination

  

  Britain will not negotiate with Spain on the question of sovereignty over Gibraltar without the approval of the colony's residents, Premier David Cameron said this week during a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 04:09 UTC

  Spain’s Ibero-America cooperation secretary arrives in Buenos Aires

  

  Spain’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Ibero-America Jesus Gracia begins Wednesday in Argentina his first trip to South America with the purpose of reviewing bilateral relations and reporting on the preparations for the coming Ibero-American summit to be held in Cadiz.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 04:04 UTC

  Argentina begins offensive to strengthen ties with CARICOM members

  

  Argentina is hoping to use its “strong political commitment” with St Lucia to strengthen ties with the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping, its ambassador Marcelo Aldo Salviolo has said.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 01:20 UTC

  Argentina’s Malvinas policy leads no where; China and Taiwan, an inspiring example

  

  Argentina has fallen prisoner of two conflicting positions on the Malvinas Islands issue which lead no where in the objective of claiming sovereignty over the South Atlantic Islands, says Carlos Perez Llana a former Argentine ambassador in Paris and political science and diplomacy professor.

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 00:05 UTC

  Mines swept by heavy rainfall forces closure of Chile/Peru border passage

  

  A main border pass between Chile and Peru remains closed to all traffic because recent heavy rainfall and flooding have swept antipersonnel and anti-tank mines in the region, in some cases all the way to the Pacific, where beaches have been put out of limits.