Politics

• Wednesday, July 29th 2009 - 12:13 UTC

  Chavez freezes diplomatic and trade relations with Colombia

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez froze diplomatic relations with neighboring Colombia, citing verbal “aggressions” from that country. The announcement Tuesday on national television follows declarations from the Colombian government that anti-tank weapons purchased by Venezuela from Sweden ended up in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

• Tuesday, July 28th 2009 - 14:22 UTC

  Pope Benedict XVI names Catholic Bishop of British Forces

  

  Pope Benedict XVI has announced that Monsignor Richard Moth, currently Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Southwark, England, will be the next Catholic Bishop of the British Forces.

• Tuesday, July 28th 2009 - 14:18 UTC

  Swedish made weapons sold to Venezuela turn up in Colombian guerrilla camp

  

  Sweden has asked Venezuela to explain how Swedish-made weapons ended up in the hands of Colombia's Farc rebels. Swedish officials said the anti-tank rocket launchers had been sold to Venezuela in the 1980s.

• Tuesday, July 28th 2009 - 07:13 UTC

  Honduras Army supports mediation, unity government and early elections

  

  The head of the Honduran military pledged on Monday not to use deadly force against supporters of ousted president Manuel Zelaya and said the Army supports mediation efforts to solve the political crisis.

• Tuesday, July 28th 2009 - 03:41 UTC

  Mercosur “lame and in misery” says Uruguayan presidential candidate

  

  Mercosur is “lame and in misery”, said Uruguay’s ruling coalition presidential candidate Jose Mujica. As of last weekend Uruguay holds the six month rotating chair of the South American trade block which has as full members, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

• Tuesday, July 28th 2009 - 03:28 UTC

  Brazil insists on the political angle of the Itaipú agreement

  

  The Brazilian presidency advisor in international affairs Marco Aurelio García said that the agreement between Brazil and Paraguay regarding the surplus power from the shared Itaipú hydroelectric dam (operationally the largest in the world) is “most important” and helps to normalize bilateral relations.

• Monday, July 27th 2009 - 22:20 UTC

  Who can buy farmland in the Falklands – restrictions to be imposed?

  

  A recent increase in the sale of Falklands farms to overseas buyers may lead to amendments to the Lands Non-residents Ordinance potentially to restrict who can buy farmland in the islands.

• Monday, July 27th 2009 - 12:35 UTC

  Brazil agrees to treble payment for Paraguay’s energy from Itaipú

  

  Brazil and Paraguay agreed over the weekend on an amicable solution to a decade long dispute over a hydro-electric dam on their shared border, with Brazil agreeing to triple the amount it pays its neighbour for energy.

• Monday, July 27th 2009 - 12:31 UTC

  Colombia’s Uribe re-re-election will be decided next September

  

  Colombian President Alvaro Uribe postponed until September any decision on plans to seek a third term in office, the country’s former defence minister said week in Madrid.

• Monday, July 27th 2009 - 12:23 UTC

  Castro announces second belt tightening and calls on Cubans to work the land

  

  On the 56th anniversary of the start of the Cuban Revolution, the message from President Raul Castro was not at all celebratory: the country must prepare for a second round of belt tightening because of the global financial crisis and promoting agriculture and food production is a “strategic priority”.