Politics

• Saturday, October 17th 2009 - 05:29 UTC

  Geithner committed to keep the US dollar as a reserve currency

  

  United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the dollar's role as a reserve currency carries special responsibilities, including the need to control inflation and get the nation's finances in order. In an interview on CNBC television, Geithner was asked about the dollar's recent decline and what the Treasury was doing to guard its value.

• Saturday, October 17th 2009 - 05:24 UTC

  Honduras crisis stalls President Obama expected visit to Brazil and Chile

  

  US president Barack Obama could visit Brazil this year once the US Senate approves the nomination of Thomas Shannon as ambassador before the Brazilian government, announced the head of the Brazilian diplomatic legation in Washington Antonio Patriota.

• Saturday, October 17th 2009 - 00:20 UTC

  Weekly Penguin News Update

  

  The next 19 days will determine the winners and losers in the Falklands General Election—and the path of the government for the next four years.

• Friday, October 16th 2009 - 09:06 UTC

  Maradona’s foul reactions turn “hand of God” against him

  

  Argentina’s coach Diego Maradona lashed out angrily at the media for failing to back him during Argentina's roller-coaster ride to last-gasp qualification for the World Cup finals in Montevideo after beating Uruguay one to zero.

• Friday, October 16th 2009 - 06:51 UTC

  Spanish mayor calls for “extraordinary relations” with the Gibraltar government

  

  Spain’s La Linea (*) new Mayor Alejandro Sanchez wants to have “extraordinary relations with the Gibraltar Government, the opposition and the rest of the Rock’s political class,” he said to the Gibraltar Chronicle, minutes after his election.

• Friday, October 16th 2009 - 04:33 UTC

  Overwhelming support for Brazil as member of the UN Security Council

  

  Bosnia, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria were elected Thursday to non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. They will serve two-year terms starting January 1 and will participate in decisions ranging from deploying U.N. peacekeepers to imposing sanctions.

• Friday, October 16th 2009 - 04:06 UTC

  Uruguay committed to regional integration and a “better Mercosur”

  

  Uruguay has no plans to abandon or become an associate member of Mercosur, but rather continue along the line established by President Tabare Vazquez which is doubling efforts “for a better Mercosur” said Foreign Affairs minister Pedro Vaz during a meeting with foreign correspondents in Montevideo.

• Thursday, October 15th 2009 - 07:56 UTC

  Uruguayan presidential hopefuls are “vain”, “impulsive” and “egocentric”

  

  A graphology profile of Uruguay’s presidential candidates for the coming October 25th election has surfaced such adjectives as “impulsive” and “egocentric”. The report was published in Montevideo’s main daily El Pais following on the “readings” of the signatures of three of the hopefuls.

• Thursday, October 15th 2009 - 07:51 UTC

  New warnings about an arms race in South America and Nicaragua

  

  Several Latinamerica former political leaders and security experts expressed concern over the consequences of an arms race in South America and in Central America’s Nicaragua.

• Thursday, October 15th 2009 - 04:30 UTC

  Teamsters strike “strangling” Punta Arenas

  

  Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile is beginning to suffer shortages of some basic goods, including fuel, as a direct consequence of a several-days’ teamsters’ strike which has virtually isolated the city by land.