Politics

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 13:38 UTC

  Mercosur remains strategic for Uruguay and must be “strengthened”

  

  Uruguay will emphasize the need to “strengthen” Mercosur given the global context and the current weakness of the group’s cohesion said the country’s head of the Economic, Integration and Mercosur affairs office at the foreign relations ministry. However the current political environment does not seem to be the most appropriate.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 13:22 UTC

  Ecuador’s Correa forecasts the end of OAS and promotes the Group of Rio

  

  Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa said the Organization of American States, OAS, has “no longer a reason to exist” and forecasted it will be replaced by the Group of Rio, arguing it was time that Latinamerican issues ceased to be discussed in Washington.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 13:17 UTC

  Iran/Israel conflict also present at the OAS meeting in Honduras

  

  Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister will attend the annual general assembly of the Organization of American States this week in Honduras in an attempt to counter Iran's growing influence in Latinamerica, according to Israel diplomatic sources.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 09:02 UTC

  OAS calls for a political solution to Colombian internal conflict

  

  The Organization of American States Secretary General said the Colombian internal conflict should move towards a negotiated political solution, and offered to contribute to the peace efforts.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 09:00 UTC

  Tory leader orders MP to pay capital gains tax

  

  A British opposition Conservative frontbench MP who avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of her taxpayer-funded second home will have to pay the money, party leader David Cameron has said.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 08:57 UTC

  Tories to question UK government on Spanish incursions in Gibraltar waters

  

  UK Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague is to question the British Government following the recent incidents involving the Spanish navy off the coast of Gibraltar, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 08:52 UTC

  Indigenous peoples demand more involvement in environment affairs

  

  A United Nations conference on indigenous affairs wrapped up its two-week gathering making a host of recommendations, including the worldwide establishment of a mechanism requiring patent offices to publicize the origins of products derived from indigenous knowledge when exclusive rights to the design are requested.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 08:39 UTC

  New El Salvador government expected to restore relations with Cuba

  

  El Salvador President-elect Mauricio Funes plans to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba after taking office on Monday, a lawmaker allied tipped to become the Foreign Affairs minister of the new administration.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 08:17 UTC

  Blackouts in Cuba if companies don’t comply with restrictions

  

  The Cuban government has threatened with cutting power to companies and entities that do not comply with the “exceptional measures” which become effective Monday to save fuel and help the rapidly deteriorating island’s economy, aggravated by the current global financial crisis.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 07:50 UTC

  Cuba/US step closer agree to resume migration talks

  

  Cuba has agreed to resume talks with the United States over migration and mail service between the two countries, two senior US State Department officials said on Sunday.