Politics

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 10:17 UTC

  Great victory for gay rights movement: New York legalizes same-sex marriage

  

  New York lawmakers narrowly voted to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born. New York thus becomes the sixth state in the US where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 08:00 UTC

  Canada interested in closer links with Mercosur announces ‘exploratory talks’

  

  Canada and Mercosur agreed on Friday to hold exploratory talks to strengthen their relationship, Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast said on Friday. Fast is currently in Asunción to promote bilateral trade and investments, and Paraguay currently holds the Mercosur chair.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 07:44 UTC

  Torture remains prevalent in too many countries, UN warns

  

  Too many countries are still practising or tolerating “cruel, degrading and illegal” acts of torture, top United Nations officials said today as they pledged the UN's solidarity with the millions of torture victims worldwide.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 07:40 UTC

  Argentina not to be sanctioned over money laundering, says FATF

  

  The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced it will not sanction Argentina over money laundering and “admitted the political commitment and the progress achieved by the country, specially the great advances it made in the regulations after the approval of the law to fight the money laundering, and the recommendations given in order to continue improving the system.”

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 07:35 UTC

  Europe tightens borders to block the influx of immigrants

  

  European Union leaders agreed Friday to tighten migration safeguards, including potentially reintroducing border controls between states, in a controversial response to an influx of migrants fleeing North Africa's upheaval.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 07:28 UTC

  Clarin group heirs give DNA blood samples to quell suspicions about their biological origin

  

  The adopted children of one of one of the wealthiest women in Argentina came forward to give blood and saliva samples Friday, hoping to quell suspicions they were stolen as babies from murdered political prisoners during military rule.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 07:24 UTC

  Leading Argentine incumbent Vice-president hopeful steps down

  

  A leading candidate to become Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s running mate in the October presidential elections has been discarded following his decision to run for re-election as governor of his province.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 07:18 UTC

  Chile among lowest for teen births in Latam, but still double the UK

  

  Out of every 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in Chile, 51 become pregnant and give birth to a child, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These latest figures place Chile’s percentage below pregnancy rates for all other South American countries, but still far behind nations outside the region.

• Friday, June 24th 2011 - 22:23 UTC

  FIFA slams Brazil’s slow pace of preparation for the 2014 World Cup

  

  Brazil's slow pace of preparation for the 2014 World Cup has come under attack from FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke. Stadium development plus work on airports and the transport system are lagging well behind schedule.

• Friday, June 24th 2011 - 21:58 UTC

  Croatia become the European Union 28th member; final ratification June 2013

  

  European Union leaders said Croatia is ready to become the bloc’s 28th member, signalling peace in the Balkan region.