Politics

• Friday, May 22nd 2009 - 12:18 UTC

  UK “deeply concerned” with Spanish advance of Gibraltar waters

  

  Britain’s Europe Minister, Caroline Flint, told the House of Commons this week that the British Government remained “deeply concerned” by recent developments in Europe affecting Gibraltar waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Friday, May 22nd 2009 - 12:07 UTC

  Obama sends a letter to Cristina for the May 25th celebration

  

  United States president Barack Obama has sent a letter to President Cristina Fernandez praising Argentina’s efforts “to work as a constructive and stabilizing force in the region and beyond”.

• Friday, May 22nd 2009 - 01:42 UTC

  Steady culling of British MPs over expenses scandal practices

  

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been forced to defend two more of his Cabinet ministers as the expenses scandal showed little sign of abating. He insisted there was “no problem” with financial arrangements that meant Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell did not pay capital gains tax on second homes.

• Friday, May 22nd 2009 - 01:38 UTC

  End to an injustice: Gurkhas win right to settle in Britain

  

  The British government finally relented on settlement rights for the Gurkha veterans, the elite soldiers who for over two hundred years have served in the British Army, bravely fighting all over the world including the Falklands conflict of 1982.

• Friday, May 22nd 2009 - 01:33 UTC

  The Kirchners under increased international isolation

  

  Argentina’s ruling couple, the Kirchners growing international isolation has been highlighted by Buenos Aires political analysts. The only leader who seems to visit Buenos Aires quite often is Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, while differences accumulate with neighbouring Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, with the more distant Mexico and Israel and there seems to be a growing distancing from the Obama administration.

• Thursday, May 21st 2009 - 11:12 UTC

  US Congress strong message to Argentina on defaulted obligations

  

  American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), a coalition of more than 40 taxpayer, investor, educator, Latino and agriculture organizations, commended members of the United States House of Representatives for introducing legislation imposing stiff penalties on wealthy and middle-income nations that, like Argentina, refuse to honour obligations to US creditors.

• Thursday, May 21st 2009 - 10:37 UTC

  British Tories insist on an immediate general election

  

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has rejected calls by Conservative leader David Cameron for an immediate General Election and warned that planned Tory spending cuts would lead to “chaos”.

• Thursday, May 21st 2009 - 10:31 UTC

  Lula da Silva rejects third term but hand-picked candidate is seriously ill

  

  Brazilian President Lula da Silva has ruled out the possibility of standing for a third term in office adding he was certain the likely candidate for the ruling Workers Party is chief of staff Dilma Rousseff.

• Wednesday, May 20th 2009 - 02:36 UTC

  First time in 300 years: House of Commons speaker forced to stand down

  

  The first House of Commons Speaker to be effectively forced out of office in 300 years took place Tuesday when Michael Martin told MPs he intends to stand down. In a brief statement to a packed House of Commons he said he would step down on 21 June, with his successor set to be elected by MPs the next day.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2009 - 14:44 UTC

  Re-election, “bad symptom” for democracy in Latinamerica

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez intention to hold on to office is a “bad symptom” which is spreading to the rest of Latinamerica claimed Cesar Perez Vivas, opposition governor from the Venezuelan state of Tachira.