Politics

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 17:46 UTC

  Colombian presidential candidate accuses Chavez of interference

  

  Colombia’s leading presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos claimed that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is intent in interfering in his country’s electoral process that next May 30 will decide on the successor of President Alvaro Uribe.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 17:24 UTC

  Falklands’ sovereignty: a bilateral issue between Argentina and UK, says Spain

  

  Spain will not be supporting Argentina’s Falkland Islands sovereignty claim during the coming European Union and Latinamerican summit to be held next May 18 in Madrid, according to Falklands Legislative Assembly Member Roger Edwards recently back from Brussels.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 16:27 UTC

  Chilean president to sell holding in television network: 160 million USD

  

  Chilean billionaire-businessman-turned-president Sebastian Piñera is in the process of selling Chilevisión, the third most watched television network in the country.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 03:24 UTC

  Argentine military Junta president sentenced to 25 years in prison

  

  Retired General Reynaldo Bignone, 82, the last leader of Argentina’s 1976-1983 military regime was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 03:16 UTC

  Lula da Silva says Brazil must extend a hand to Latinamerica’s poor countries

  

  President Lula da Silva defended his “diversification” diplomacy and said that Brazil must extend “a friendly hand” to all Latinamerican countries. He recalled that some interest groups in Brazil wanted him to strongly confront the governments of Bolivia and Paraguay because of differences over energy policies.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 03:11 UTC

  Argentina and Venezuela announce a “new world order of relationships”

  

  Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Venezuela’s leader Hugo Chávez said “the new world requires a new logic to accept a new order of relationships” during a meeting held at the presidential palace of Miraflores in Caracas.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 03:04 UTC

  Brazil’s main presidential candidate considers Mercosur a “farce” and a “barrier”

  

  Brazil’s leading presidential candidate Jose Serra described Mercosur as a “farce” and a “barrier” for Brazil to sign trade agreements with other countries.

• Tuesday, April 20th 2010 - 17:31 UTC

  Strong reference to the Falklands at Venezuela’s dawn of ‘a new independence’

  

  Argentina’s president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called on Monday for the end to the Falklands/Malvinas “colonial enclave”, as she forecasted from Venezuela, standing as a privileged guest next to Hugo Chavez, that Latinamerica is in the process of a “second independence”.

• Tuesday, April 20th 2010 - 16:35 UTC

  Chavez marks “true-independence” with impressive military and militias’ parade

  

  Venezuela kicked off celebrations marking 200 years of struggle for independence with an impressive several hour long military parade. Recently-acquired Chinese K-8 planes and Russian Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft swooped through the sky during a lavish military parade in Caracas, as soldiers from Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Libya, Nicaragua and Russia joined those on the ground.

• Tuesday, April 20th 2010 - 14:33 UTC

  IATA criticizes Europe’s management of airports’ ash cloud-closure

  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sharply criticized Monday Euroepan governments for their lack of leadership in handling airspace restrictions in light of the Icelandic volcano eruption and urged a re-think of the decision-making process.