Politics

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF Board supports overhaul and shift in voting power

  

  The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended on Friday an overhaul of the institution's governance structure that will realign quota and voting shares of member countries with their relative weight and role in the global economy thus enhancing the participation and voice of emerging market and low-income countries in the 185-member IMF.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  First time Uruguay's coalition looses lead to opposition

  

  The latest public opinion poll to be released in Uruguay shows that if national elections were to be held this Sunday, the sum of votes from opposition parties would be just enough to defeat the Socialist oriented ruling coalition.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Buenos Aires Mayor blames Kirchners for farmers' lockout

  

  Buenos Aires City conservative Mayor Mauricio Macri blamed Argentina's farmers lockout on the government of President Cristina Kirchner and, in what seemed a reference to her and her husband and predecessor Néstor Kirchner, he criticized “those who seek eternal power”.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  France increasingly involved in release of Colombian hostages

  

  Colombia thanked France for having displayed on stand by a medical evacuation aircraft to receive, in case she's released, ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, FARC over six years ago.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Muslims outnumber Catholics worldwide reveals Vatican

  

  Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world, the Vatican said on Sunday. Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2% of the world's population and Catholics 17.4%.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Mrs. Kirchner forced to cancel meeting with PM Brown

  

  Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner cancelled her coming trip to Great Britain because of the worsening of the farmers' 17 days conflict. Mrs. Kirchner was expecting to talk about Argentina's Falklands' claims in London.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  CFK Malvinas Day message next Wednesday

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will head next Wednesday April 2, --the 26th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands--, the main ceremony of the Veterans and Fallen in the Malvinas War Day.

• Saturday, March 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  No Progress in Argentine Farm Talks

  Argentine farmers announced a temporary truce in a 16-day strike on Friday, but marathon talks with the government failed to yield an immediate agreement over disputed export tax hikes.

• Saturday, March 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile: German tank trainers attacked

  Five youths are accused of attacking nine German soldiers and taking them hostage in this Chilean port city, police said.

• Friday, March 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Opportunity for EU Mercosur discussions “building positively”

  

  Mercosur and the European Union have scheduled several facilitating meetings previous to the Lima summit next May which should help re-launch the stalled negotiations for a cooperation and association agreement.