Politics

Monday, December 20th 2010 - 16:39 UTC
Lula da Silva calls for an enlarged Mercosur to better defend the region’s interests

Brazilian president Lula de Silva strongly defended Mercosur calling for a quick approval of Venezuela’s incorporation as full member, and proposed other associate members such Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile should follow the same path since ‘we share the same political, economic and cultural affinities’.
Monday, December 20th 2010 - 16:36 UTC
Paraguayan Senators put a price on Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur

Paraguayan senators reiterated that given certain conditions and political agreements they are prepared to vote for Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur as full member.
Monday, December 20th 2010 - 06:09 UTC
Which are the countries most effective in reducing poverty and inequality?

Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela are the countries which most reduced inequality and poverty during the last decade in Latinamerica, according to Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cepal.
Monday, December 20th 2010 - 05:45 UTC
“Too much secrecy, too many lies” have taken the revolution to a critical situation

In a dramatic speech to the National Assembly Cuba’s Raul Castro said he wasn’t elected to restore capitalism nor to surrender Socialism but admitted that “too much secrecy and too many lies” had taken the revolution to a critical situation: “either we rectify or we will plunge from the cliff and the efforts of entire generations would be lost”.
Monday, December 20th 2010 - 05:39 UTC
Three more Latam countries ‘are ready to recognize’ a Palestine state

Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru are expected to recognize the state of Palestine with its borders prior to 1967, following the recent announcements from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and last week Bolivia, according to Palestine sources.
Monday, December 20th 2010 - 05:17 UTC
Stolen fiscal “wikileaks” earn the German treasury 1.6 billion Euros

German tax authorities recovered 1.6 billion Euros this year from citizens who had stashed their cash in secret accounts in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, according to the weekly Der Spiegel.
Monday, December 20th 2010 - 05:09 UTC
Uribe willing to accept US military forces fearing an attack from Venezuela

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe considered allowing the U.S. military access to Colombian bases as a way to deter possible Venezuelan attacks, a leaked cable from then-Ambassador to Bogotá William Brownfield says.
Saturday, December 18th 2010 - 19:09 UTC
Conflicting assessments of Argentina’s defence policy and military capabilities

Conflicting assessments of Argentina’s military capacity, defence policies and future planning were given by the brand-new Defence minister, Arturo Puricelli and a former minister from the opposition.
Saturday, December 18th 2010 - 18:30 UTC
Dragon and Elephant: complicated neighbourhood

*By Sameer Jafri - Year 2010 marks sixty years of diplomatic relationship between India and China. Though the relations between the two go back to ancient times, the period since 1950 till present is mainly fraught with boundary dispute, which also led to a short-lived war in 1962. But in recent times, both sides have successfully attempted to normalize the bilateral relationship, mainly driven by the mounting bilateral trade.
Saturday, December 18th 2010 - 13:24 UTC
Mapuche friendly cardinal named Archbishop of Santiago de Chile

The former archbishop of Concepción, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, has been named as the new archbishop of Chile’s capital Santiago. He will replace cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa.