Politics

• Saturday, March 21st 2009 - 11:28 UTC

  Argentine farmers back on the roads for a week

  

  Argentine farmers are back in the roads, this time for a whole seven-day strike beginning Saturday, the tenth such measure since the conflict erupted a year ago when the administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner increased export levies on grains and oilseeds.

• Saturday, March 21st 2009 - 10:13 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil close ranks and downplay trade differences

  

  Argentine visiting president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva called on Friday for speedier financing of joint development and commerce projects to help stimulate decreasing bilateral trade.

• Saturday, March 21st 2009 - 09:08 UTC

  G-20 members agree on banking regulation and loans to IMF

  

  G-20 nations have agreed to develop principles to regulate the banking sector and to make 100 billion US dollars in loans available to the International Monetary Fund to support the developing world according to British government sources.

• Saturday, March 21st 2009 - 08:47 UTC

  Democratic Congress could hold surprises for Obama’s ambitious budgets

  

  The US budget deficit will hit 1.8 trillion US dollars this year, a record amount, according to US Congress estimates. The White House said the prediction by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would not alter President Barack Obama's policy agenda, nor would it affect its goal to cut the deficit in half by 2013, it added.

• Saturday, March 21st 2009 - 08:40 UTC

  Petrobras union threatens with national strike beginning Monday

  

  Brazil’s government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras faces a possible nationwide strike by oil workers that could paralyze the company's oil production for five days, starting Monday.

• Saturday, March 21st 2009 - 08:33 UTC

  Milestone ruling in Brazil supports Amazon Indian reservations

  

  Amazon indigenous groups have won a major victory with Brazil's Supreme Court upholding the integrity of a vast native reserve in the northern state of Roraima next to Venezuela.

• Friday, March 20th 2009 - 15:11 UTC

  Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News Update

  

  Headlines: Chamber clashes with FIG over lack of action; ‘Increased broadband’ announced by Cable and Wireless.

• Friday, March 20th 2009 - 10:14 UTC

  Mrs. Kirchner corners farmers who take to the roads again

  

  In a further escalation of the conflict with farmers over taxes, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced on Thursday that revenue from the levy on soy exports would be shared between the federal, provincial and city governments.

• Friday, March 20th 2009 - 08:44 UTC

  El Salvador president elect visits Lula da Silva and talks with Obama

  

  El Salvador's President-elect Mauricio Funes will make his first foreign trip to Brazil, officials said after his party of former Marxist rebels triumphed in weekend elections. On Wednesday US President Barack Obama telephoned Mr. Funes to congratulate him on his election.

• Friday, March 20th 2009 - 07:38 UTC

  Costa Rica, El Salvador to re-establish ties with Cuba

  

  After almost 50 years of severed ties, Costa Rica will re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, President Oscar Arias announced Thursday. The move, announced via a press release, comes after Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno hinted earlier this week that a rapprochement was possible.