Politics

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 11:14 UTC

  Qatar sovereign wealth fund buys 5% of Banco Santander Brazil

  

  Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest bank, said this week that it will sell 5% of its Brazilian unit to Qatar Holding LLC for 1.95 billion Euros (Approx. 2.7 billion US dollars).

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 10:57 UTC

  In one of his last acts, Moratinos announces ease of tension with Gibraltar

  

  In what could very well have been one of his last comments as Foreign Affairs minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos said Spain would be removing the scientific buoys that it laid in Gibraltar waters as from Wednesday October 20.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 07:26 UTC

  Piñera seals in Paris wide-ranging “strategic alliance” with France

  

  Chilean president Sebastian Piñera announced Wednesday in Paris a wide-ranging “strategic alliance” with France following a meeting with President Nicholas Sarkozy. Piñera arrived Tuesday from London and later in the week is scheduled to travel to Germany.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 07:19 UTC

  With frozen income BBC has to fund World Service and Welsh language TV

  

  The TV licence fee, which funds Britain’s BBC, is to be frozen for six years at £145.50, the Chancellor has confirmed. The BBC will also take over the cost of the Foreign Office-funded World Service, BBC Monitoring and some of the costs of Welsh language TV channel S4C.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 07:11 UTC

  UK unveils biggest spending cuts in decades; half a million public jobs to go

  

  Chancellor George Osborne has unveiled the biggest UK spending cuts for decades, with welfare, councils and police budgets all hit. The pension age will rise sooner than expected, some incapacity benefits will be time limited and other money clawed back through changes to tax credits and housing benefit.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 22:47 UTC

  Pope Benedict puts his (conservative) stamp by naming 20 ‘cardinal electors’

  

  Pope Benedict put his stamp on the future of the Roman Catholic Church by naming 24 new cardinals, including 20 who are under 80 and thus eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect his successor.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 22:46 UTC

  Uruguay and Switzerland sign a Double Taxation Agreement

  

  The governments of Uruguay and Switzerland agreed a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) on October 18. The document was signed by the Uruguay’s Economy Minister, Fernando Lorenzo, and his Swiss counterpart, Hans-Rudolf Merz.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 22:39 UTC

  Spain reshuffles cabinet: Perez Rubalcaba new strong man; Moratinos out

  

  Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero named a new deputy premier and foreign minister Wednesday as part of a major cabinet reshuffle at a time when his ruling Socialists have been trailing conservatives fifteen points in polls.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 03:40 UTC

  Miners claim rumblings anticipated collapse but were refused request to leave

  

  A Chilean legislative commission is investigating reports that mining operators ignored danger warnings from a man who was later among 33 later trapped when a mine collapsed.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 03:33 UTC

  Dilma Rousseff seems back on track and leads with 51% vote intention

  

  The Brazilian ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff has widened her lead ahead of a presidential runoff vote on October 31, a poll showed, suggesting her campaign may be back on pace after a rough two weeks in which she appeared to be back-pedalling