Politics

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 15:27 UTC

  Frei and Piñera expected to face-off in Chilean presidential run off

  

  With only a month remaining before Chileans cast their votes Dec. 13 to elect their next president, one of the nation’s most important polls showed the race tightening, but with the two front-runners -rightist billionaire Sebastian Piñera and centrist Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei - holding on to their leads.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 15:16 UTC

  Lula da Silva, next to Shimon Peres, justifies Iran’s leader visit to Brazil

  

  Brazil's President justified the scheduled visit of Iran's president in two weeks time and offered to mediate in the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestine. Lula da Silva rejected criticism over the upcoming visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, slated for November 23, standing next to visiting Israeli president Shimon Peres.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 15:12 UTC

  Brazil purchases Israeli drones to clean Rio of crime and drug gangs

  

  Israel Aerospace Industries signed a 350 million US dollars contract this week to supply drones to the Brazilian police - the largest such deal ever between Israel and Brazil. The contract was signed during President Shimon Peres' state visit to Brazil, but negotiations began months ago

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 09:26 UTC

  Lavagna blasts Cristina Kirchner failed government: “stop looking for excuses”

  

  Argentina’ former Economy minister Roberto Lavagna said on Thursday that when governments begin to fail, “they begin to look for all kind of excuses”. The administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner faced with mounting social unrest and financial problems claims a “destabilization plan” has been set in motion.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 08:18 UTC

  Buenos Aires “picket-city”: 340 street protests per month

  

  Since September last year the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has faced 7.658 street protests and blocked routes, which is 68% more than the 4.451which took place during the four years mandate of her predecessor in the job and husband, Nestor Kirchner. This works out at an average 340 monthly street protests since Mrs. Kirchner took office in December 2007.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 04:55 UTC

  Mexican tycoon and drug-lord make it to Forbes most powerful list

  

  Mexico made it to the Forbes list of the 67 most powerful in the world with two names: one of them a legitimate businessman linked to telecommunication with an international reputation, the other a notorious drug lord with a reward on his head.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 04:35 UTC

  Colombia takes Chavez “war threats” to the UN Security Council

  

  Colombia has taken its case with threats of war from neighbouring Venezuela to the United Nations Security Council after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told his army to get ready to fight.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 03:58 UTC

  The Kirchner couple at their lowest public opinion rating

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband Nestor Kirchner are the politicians with the worst image according to a public opinion poll taken at the end of October by Management & Fit and released this week.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 01:23 UTC

  Cuba drastically slashes “farm bureaucracy” to boost food production

  

  One of the major ills of Cuba’s state-run agricultural enterprises is “the excess of non-productive personnel,” Communist Party daily Granma said this week. The newspaper estimated the number of redundant employees in the state farming sector at 89,000, or 26% of the total.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 01:02 UTC

  Honduras US Supreme Court deliberates on Zelaya’s reinstatement

  

  The Honduras Supreme Court begun to consider late Wednesday if ousted President Manuel Zelaya should or should not be reinstated, a crucial step in the process to help overcome the four-month political crisis that has virtually paralyzed the Central American country.