Politics

• Monday, January 18th 2010 - 11:35 UTC

  Brazil Catholic Church attacks government initiative on abortion and gay rights

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva and his National Program on Human Rights which last week apparently overcame military intransigence, now faces another formidable voice in the country’s politics: the Brazilian Episcopacy, disappointed with the abortion and gay marriage proposals.

• Saturday, January 16th 2010 - 15:59 UTC

  Argentina confident SEC observations will not hamper debt swap proposal

  

  The United States Security and Exchange Commission sent its response on the Argentine debt swap proposal back to the Treasury Palace. According to sources, the agency has made 15 observations.

• Saturday, January 16th 2010 - 07:04 UTC

  Mayor Johnson says top bankers fleeing from London over taxes

  

  Thousands of high-earning bankers will flee London because of the Government's taxation policy, Mayor Boris Johnson has warned. He has written to Chancellor Alistair Darling asking for a meeting to discuss his introduction of a 50p income tax rate for top earners and a temporary 50% levy on banking bonuses over £25,000.

• Saturday, January 16th 2010 - 06:54 UTC

  Lula da Silva yields to military eliminates “political repression” term

  

  Brazil’s President Lula da Silva said that he’s not sponsoring a “witch hunt” when he proposes the creation of a Truth Commission to investigate cases of torture and killings of political prisoners during the long military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 11:17 UTC

  Surviving Haitians desperate while disorganized relief efforts trickle

  

  The Red Cross estimates 45,000-50,000 people have died in Haiti's devastating earthquake, as rescue teams race against time to find survivors. The US is sending up to 3,500 troops and 2,200 marines but correspondents say aid is so far only trickling in.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 11:14 UTC

  Cobos will not summon Congress while Mrs Kirchner is out of the country

  

  Argentine Vice-President Julio Cobos confirmed Thursday that he will not summon the Congress for an extraordinary session to discuss the Argentine Central Bank emergency decrees while Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is not at the country and added that those versions are “distrustful”.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 11:13 UTC

  Mujica and Mrs. Kirchner willing to improve bilateral relations

  

  Uruguayan president elect Jose Mujica said “there is no solution out there” for the situation of the Finnish paper mill Botnia, but “we are willing to improve the relationship between both countries”.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 09:38 UTC

  Brazilian project to cut poverty to “developed countries’ level” in six years

  

  Brazil could achieve social indicators similar to those of developed countries by 2016 if the country is able to maintain the same rate of extreme poverty reduction and income redistribution as recorded during the 2003/2008 period, according to an official report from the Presidential Strategic Affairs Secretariat.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 09:24 UTC

  UN report exposes vulnerability of indigenous peoples

  

  The world’s 370 million indigenous peoples suffer from disproportionately, often exponentially, higher rates of poverty, health problems, crime and human rights abuses, the first ever United Nations study on the issue reported today, stressing that self-determination and land rights are vital for their survival.

• Friday, January 15th 2010 - 06:37 UTC

  Judge Griesa lifts freeze on Argentine funds to help with planned “debt swap”

  

  A New York State Judge lifted a freeze on Argentine Central Bank accounts held in the US Federal Reserve, Argentina's Finance secretary told reporters on Thursday. The freeze has been imposed on request from investors holding defaulted Argentine sovereign bonds.