Politics

• Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 02:19 UTC

  Chilean Professor chairs Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

  

  The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights (CIDH) from the Organization of American States, OAS, this week elected Chilean human rights attorney Felipe Gonzalez as its new president.

• Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 02:10 UTC

  Argentine public opinion growingly disenchanted with political leadership

  

  To everybody’s surprise Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband and former president Nestor Kirchner have experienced a recovery in their public opinion standing, according to a poll from a “most respected consultant” which does not work for the Argentine government.

• Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 02:02 UTC

  Lula da Silva laid a wreath at Arafat’s mausoleum and ready “to talk to Hamas”

  

  Brazil's president criticised Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, warning that Israel's separation barrier, its blockade of Gaza and its continued settlement building was extinguishing “the candle of hope”.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 23:20 UTC

  IPI calls for immediate release of 19 Cuban journalists jailed in 2003

  

  Seven years after Cuba’s notorious Black Spring clampdown on independent journalism, IPI (International Press Institute) calls for the immediate release of the 19 journalists jailed in 2003 who still remain in prison, as well as of the six other journalists jailed after 2003.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 23:19 UTC

  Lula da Silva is warned about involvement in the presidential campaign

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva was authorized to participate in the campaign of the ruling coalition presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff, but after working hours and with all expenses billed to the Workers Party.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:42 UTC

  Four banks accused of selling “toxic derivatives” to the city of Milan

  

  Four major banks have been ordered to stand trial in Italy in a fraud case related to derivatives trading. JP Morgan Chase, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Germany's Depfa bank have been told they will be tried for aggravated fraud, along with 13 other people. The charges relate to the sale of derivates to the city of Milan.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:32 UTC

  Germany favours exclusion of Euro-zone members to avert a currency crisis

  

  Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel says she wants the Euro-zone to be able to exclude one of its members in future if that is necessary to avert a crisis. Mrs Merkel told the German Bundestag (parliament) that existing EU rules were not strong enough to deal with the current crisis triggered by Greece.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:27 UTC

  Amnesty calls on Cuban authorities to release dissidents “unfairly detained”

  

  Amnesty International Wednesday called on the Cuban authorities to release all dissidents “unfairly detained” and to revoke laws restricting freedom of expression and the right to free assembly and association.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 06:42 UTC

  St. Patrick's Day Facts: Shamrocks, Snakes, and a Saint

  

  On St. Patrick's Day—Wednesday, March 17—millions of people will don green and celebrate the Irish with parades, good cheer, and perhaps a pint of beer. But few St. Patrick's Day revelers have a clue about St. Patrick, the man, according to the author of St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 06:40 UTC

  Kirchner administration is “made out of words and scandals” like a soap opera

  

  Former Argentine president Eduardo Duhalde compared President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration with “soap operas and afternoon TV shows,” making a strong reference to celebrities' disputes in order to gain TV air and their resemblance with politicians.