Politics

• Thursday, October 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Bolivia busiest airport militarized following “staff disturbances”

  

  Bolivian soldiers and police took control of the country's most important airport Thursday after airport workers detained an American Airlines plane on the runway, demanding the carrier pay them landing fees in cash.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Odyssey ship arrested after gunpoint encounter at sea

  

  'Odyssey Explorer', the flag ship of the treasure hunting sea archaeologists Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME), has been arrested along with its captain by the Spanish authorities following a dramatic gunpoint encounter at sea three miles south of Gibraltar.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Migrant workers' remittances reached 300 billion in 2006

  Migrant workers sent home more than 300 billion US dollars to their families in developing countries in 2006, according to a study released Wednesday in Washington, D.C. by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

• Tuesday, October 16th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Kirchner's mandate ending with serious support erosion

  

  With less than two weeks before Argentina's presidential election the positive image of President Nestor Kirchner is at its lowest since taking office in May 2003, which is not necessarily good news for the incumbent candidate and First Lady, Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

• Tuesday, October 16th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Costa Rica elected to Latam seat in UN Security Council

  Costa Rica and Croatia were elected on Tuesday to the United Nations Security Council for 2008-09 after their respective rivals, the Dominican Republic and the Czech Republic pulled out after two rounds of voting.

• Tuesday, October 16th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Gibraltar has new “non colonial” link, UK tells UN

  

  The British Government told the United Nations Monday that Gibraltar had entered a new “non-colonial” constitutional relationship with the UK and described as “outdated” the UN criteria on de-listing former colonies.

• Monday, October 15th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Legislators outraged with Chile's main copper company pollution

  Legislators from Chile's environmental caucus reacted angrily last week to reports that state-owned mining company CODELCO is violating legal pollution limits for their waste water – in some cases by more than 700%. Senator Guido Girardo (PPD) and Deputy Alejandro Garcia-Huidobro (UDI) demanded that company executives be personally held responsible for their company's excesses, and denounced current sanctions as insufficient.

• Monday, October 15th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine farmers fearful of higher export taxes

  

  Argentina seems to be heading for a record crop of 100 million tons, five million more than the 2006/07 record, and with even higher prices, in money terms this could mean an overall additional four billion US dollars.

• Sunday, October 14th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Cubans listen to Fidel Castro for first time in 15 months

  Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro telephoned into a television show with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday, in his first live media appearance in Cuba since his health crisis nearly 15 months ago.

• Sunday, October 14th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Lula da Silva discards re-election and denies heavy drinking

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva reiterated he was against a hypothetical reelection for a third mandate but did not deny the possibility of running again in 2014, according to a Sunday interview with Folha do Sao Paulo. The president also pointed out that the last time he got drunk was in 1974.