Politics

Friday, July 30th 2010 - 06:05 UTC
NZ Trade Minister shares in Uruguay dairy farming could cost him the job

The financial dealings of New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser are under scrutiny amid revelations he owns thousands of shares in a Uruguayan-based dairy company that he actively promotes as part of his job, according to the NZ press.
Friday, July 30th 2010 - 06:00 UTC
Citibank agrees fine to settle charges it misled investors with high risk mortgages

Banking giant Citigroup has agreed to pay 75 million US dollars to settle civil charges that it misled investors over potential losses from high-risk mortgages. It agreed the settlement with US financial watchdog the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Friday, July 30th 2010 - 03:36 UTC
Berlusconi selling his Sardinia “love nest” for 450 million Euro

Italian Primer Minister Silvio Berlusconi is selling his ostentatious Villa Certosa in the island of Sardinia very much celebrated for some of the controversial private parties with prostitutes and teenagers he organized and were widely captured on film.
Friday, July 30th 2010 - 03:21 UTC
The “good chemistry” between Mujica and CFK crucial for the agreement

The Uruguayan government and opposition expressed deep satisfaction with the agreement reached with Argentina for the monitoring of the River Uruguay which did not include ‘detrimental sovereignty issues’ and sealed the end to a long standing conflict.
Friday, July 30th 2010 - 03:18 UTC
Uribe criticizes Lula da Silva for his approach to Colombia/Venezuela conflict

Outgoing Colombian president Alvaro Uribe deplored Thursday statements from the Brazilian leader Lula da Silva related to Venezuela’s decision to severe relations with Bogotá, according to a brief release from Palacio Nariño, seat of the Executive.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 - 05:59 UTC
Colombia-Venezuela diplomatic rift will test effectiveness of Unasur

The extraordinary meeting of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) foreign affairs ministers convened by Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa for this Thursday should help to search for ‘solutions’ to the diplomatic rift between Venezuela and Colombia.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 - 05:55 UTC
President-elect Santos ratifies “democratic security” policy of Colombia’s Uribe

Colombian President-elect Juan Manuel Santos named former Senator Rodrigo Rivera as his defense minister in an apparent bid to maintain the outgoing government’s pressure on guerrillas.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 - 05:37 UTC
U.S. Judge blocks key parts of Arizona’s controversial immigration law

A US federal judge in Arizona has blocked key parts of the state's strict immigration law a day before it was due to take effect. The judge blocked a requirement that police check the immigration status of criminal suspects whom they had stopped while enforcing other laws.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 - 02:37 UTC
US reverses decision and extends visa to leading Colombian journalist

The United States State Department has reversed its decision to deny a visa to a leading Colombian journalist to take up a prestigious fellowship position.
Thursday, July 29th 2010 - 01:24 UTC
Chile and Bolivia jointly celebrate mine-clearance in border areas

Chile and Bolivian Defence ministers and Army commanders will be meeting Thursday to sign documents declaring Fields free of mines, the border areas of Tambo Quemado 1 and Tambo Quemado 2 along their common border which until only recently were planted with thousands of mines.