Politics

• Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:17 UTC

  Political standoff in Argentina over sacking of Central Bank president

  

  A political standoff over the head of Argentina's central bank materialized Wednesday after the bank's president declined to support a plan to use 6.5 billion US dollars in reserves to pay debt.

• Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:05 UTC

  Argentina opens “dirty war” files except those related to South Atlantic conflict

  

  Argentina declassified and has made public all documents and information related to military activities for the period extending from 1976 to 1983 when the country was ruled by the Armed Forces, However decree 4/2010 excludes all information and documents related to the South Atlantic (Falklands/Malvinas) conflict and any other inter-state conflict”.

• Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:00 UTC

  Honduras Micheletti refuses to resign and tells the US he will stay on until Jan 27

  

  Honduras de facto leader Roberto Micheletti responded harshly to US suggestions that he resign weeks before a new president takes office on January 27.

• Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 16:45 UTC

  Paraguay’s Vice-president contrary to Venezuela joining Mercosur

  

  Paraguay’s Vice-president Federico Franco said he was contrary to Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur as long as Hugo Chavez is president accusing him of having “imperial attitudes” towards the land-locked country.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 13:04 UTC

  Air Tahiti confirms MOD contract for Falklands’ airbridge

  

  French Polynesia’s flag carrier has signed a deal with the British Defense Ministry to fly military personnel from England to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, according to Radio New Zealand International.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 11:18 UTC

  Buenos Aires Mayor tossed his hat into the Argentine presidential ring

  

  Buenos Aires City Mayor Mauricio Macri tossed his hat into the 2011 Argentine presidential ring by saying that it would be a “boyhood dream” to face off against ex-president Néstor Kirchner next year. “We are building a candidacy” he underlined.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 11:15 UTC

  Spanish unemployment at new records: 19.3% and 40% for the young

  

  Spanish unemployment rose to the highest in more than a decade in December, 19.3%, capping a year that saw the nation’s jobless rate soar to double the Euro- zone average. The number of people registering for unemployment benefits increased by 54,657, or 1.41 percentage points from November to 3.92 million.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 11:11 UTC

  Brazil has record increase of international reserves in 2009

  

  Brazil’s Central Bank reserves soared 23.4% in the last twelve months having reached 239 billion US dollars by December 31st, according to the latest data available. Nevertheless the Central Bank points out that this was below the December 2nd record of 239.4 billion USD.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2010 - 03:19 UTC

  Uruguay confirms total support to China’s Taiwan and Tibet policies

  

  China thanked Uruguay for its staunch and sustained support in crucial issues such as the one-China policy and Tibet. Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Uruguay’s Lower House president Roque Arregui, currently visiting China, met earlier this week in Beijing.

• Tuesday, January 5th 2010 - 22:27 UTC

  HMS York has arrived in the Falkland Islands

  

  HMS York arrived in the Falkland Islands on 2 Jan 10, having met up with the homeward bound HMS Gloucester and the tanker RFA Gold in the area around Rio de Janeiro