Politics

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 01:53 UTC

  A miserable story of accountability and opportunity

  

  Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi was an intelligence agent. Since he worked for the Libyan government, he probably did some bad things. But he probably did not do the specific bad thing for which he was sentenced to 27 years in prison in Scotland.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 01:39 UTC

  Unasur remains divided on the US/Colombian military agreement

  

  The Union of South American Nations, Unasur, will be meeting Friday in Bariloche, Argentina for an extraordinary summit to address an agenda headed by the Colombia/US agreement which triggered a controversy in the region and impeded an official statement at recent the Quito, Ecuador summit, last August 10.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 00:50 UTC

  The presidential re-election syndrome torments Latinamerica

  

  Presidential re-election has become a controversial issue in Latinamerican politics and some of the latest incidents are regional headlines including the current upheaval in Honduras which remains unsolved and can be traced to ousted President Manuel Zelaya alleged re-election bid.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 00:33 UTC

  Spain and Morocco to monitor Gibraltar Strait traffic; UK side-lined

  

  Britain has been side-lined from a proposal to change the mandatory reporting system for ships sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar, despite its jurisdiction over Gibraltar and the surrounding waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 22:20 UTC

  UK avionics controversy delays delivery of eight Chinook choppers to Afghanistan

  

  The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has denied claims that eight Chinook helicopters have not been usable since they were bought in 2001 because of a failed attempt to design its own software for them.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 22:08 UTC

  Obama confirms nomination of Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve

  

  President Barack Obama confirmed Tuesday that he has nominated Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve. The president took a break from his summer holiday to make the announcement.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 15:15 UTC

  Venezuela’s Mercosur incorporation approval ever more distant

  

  Mercosur has enough problems and of different kinds and does not need to include another one by voting for the incorporation of Venezuela to the trade block, according to Paraguayan senator Marcelo Duarte.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 15:08 UTC

  Chile’s Bachelet among the world’s most powerful women

  

  Forbes magazine last week listed Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as the 22nd most powerful woman in the world – up three notches from last year.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 14:58 UTC

  Strike paralyzes container activities in Buenos Aires port

  

  Container shipments are paralysed in the port of Buenos Aires due to a union conflict that is causing huge losses, the Argentine press reported.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 14:55 UTC

  Drug and drink offences, main causes for arrests of Britons overseas

  

  Drug offences now account for a fifth of all arrests of Britons abroad, Foreign Office (FO) figures show. There are currently 22 British nationals facing capital charges for drugs worldwide, the FO said.