Politics

• Monday, May 2nd 2011 - 00:48 UTC

  Argentina looses a master of literature, human rights and common sense

  

  Argentine writer and human rights militant Ernesto Sabato died at his home on Saturday morning at the age of 99. He has been suffering from bronchitis. A physicist by training he became famous because of his writing; however he had not produced any works for quite some time.

• Monday, May 2nd 2011 - 00:16 UTC

  Tanks, bombings and snipers can’t stop Syrian protests from intensifying

  

  Anti-government protesters in Syria are planning further demonstrations during the week, in spite of the violent crackdown including tanks, bombings and snipers unleashed on them.

• Monday, May 2nd 2011 - 00:14 UTC

  UN withdraws staff from Libya; NATO air strike kills son of Gaddafi

  

  UN is withdrawing all international staff from the Libyan capital Tripoli following a mob attack on its offices. UN buildings and some foreign missions were targeted by angry crowds following a NATO air strike that reportedly killed a son of Col Gaddafi.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 22:34 UTC

  Brazil furious with Human Rights Commission decision cuts all relations

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff decided to cut all relations with the Inter American Human Rights Court following on the CIDH decision to request that the construction of a huge dam in the Amazon be suspended, following an appeal from indigenous groups.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 10:17 UTC

  CELAC has not been created to exclude the US or Spain, says Iglesias

  

  The head of the Ibero-American Secretariat Enrique Iglesias denied that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, to be created next July pretends to take distance from the United States or Spain.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 10:07 UTC

  Brazilian has 190.7 million population, and 14.6 million illiterates

  

  Brazil’s population reached 190.7 million according to primary data collected from the 2010 demographic census and released Friday by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE. The census also showed that almost 10% of the population is illiterate.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 10:03 UTC

  Moyano calls for CFK re-election and wants a finger in companies and Congress

  

  Argentina's powerful organized labour leader Hugo Moyano called for President Cristina Fernandez, CFK, to run for re-election but also asked for greater labour participation in the ballot lists, sharing companies’ profits and seats in the boards of the main corporations.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 09:44 UTC

  Argentina and Chile pay homage to John Paul II for his 1984 peace treaty

  

  Argentina’ Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman and his Chilean peer Alfredo Moreno will lead next Monday in the Vatican homage to John Paul II for his 1978 successful mediation in preventing a full fledged armed conflict between the two neighbouring countries.

• Saturday, April 30th 2011 - 09:34 UTC

  UNASUR Secretary General officially takes office May 9 in Guyana

  

  Union of South American Nations, UNASUR, nominated Secretary General Maria Emma Mejia said Friday in Uruguay that her round of visits to country members has the purpose of defining a work agenda to be elaborated once she formally takes office in May.

• Friday, April 29th 2011 - 23:23 UTC

  World Cup, Olympics, excellent opportunity to promote the Brazil brand

  

  Rio de Janeiro's hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics is an unprecedented chance to promote the Brazil brand and ensure a legacy of economic and social benefits, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday.