United States

• Wednesday, June 12th 2013 - 07:39 UTC

  Obama and Humala working closely on finalizing the Trans Pacific Partnership

  

  President Barack Obama welcomed Peruvian counterpart Ollanta Humala to the White House on Tuesday, in Washington's latest effort to meet a deadline to seal a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Humala praised the Obama administration for its open attitude in addressing strategic issues.

• Wednesday, June 12th 2013 - 07:30 UTC

  Assange recommends whistleblower Snowden seek refuge in Latinamerica

  

  Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, a refugee for almost a year at the Embassy of Ecuador in London, is recommending that Edward Snowden, 29, seek refuge in Latin America.

• Monday, June 10th 2013 - 22:01 UTC

  Ex-CIA employee leaked info “to protect basic liberties for people around the world”

  

  An ex-CIA employee has said he acted to “protect basic liberties for people around the world” in leaking details of US phone and internet surveillance. Edward Snowden, 29, was revealed as the source of the leaks at his own request by the UK's Guardian newspaper.

• Monday, June 10th 2013 - 19:44 UTC

  S&P upgrades US credit outlook to ‘stable’; government debt 84% of GDP

  

  Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's On Monday upgraded its credit outlook for the United States government to “stable” from “negative,” saying the chances of a downgrade of the country's rating is “less than one in three.”

• Friday, June 7th 2013 - 07:43 UTC

  US spy chief admits collecting internet information but only targets ‘non-US persons’

  

  US spy chief James Clapper has admitted the government collects communications from internet firms, but says the policy only targets “non-US persons”. The director of national intelligence was responding to articles about an alleged secret programme, Prism.

• Friday, June 7th 2013 - 03:25 UTC

  Major tech companies involved in US controversy over ‘security vs privacy’

  

  Major tech companies including Apple Inc, Google and Facebook Inc said they do not provide any government agency with “direct access” to their servers, contradicting a Washington Post report that they have granted such access under a classified data collection program.

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 02:13 UTC

  U.S. and Venezuela agree to start dialogue to restore respective ambassadors

  

  The United States is to start a dialogue with Venezuela aimed at restoring their respective ambassadors, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said. He was speaking after Venezuela freed and deported a US filmmaker who had been held on conspiracy charges. Mr Kerry welcomed Timothy Tracy's release as a “positive development”.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2013 - 19:21 UTC

  Uruguay former president calls on Latam to advance in agreements with the US

  

  “The time for rhetoric exercises has run out”, said Uruguayan former president Tabare Vazquez during a presentation before the Latin American Studies Association, LASA, in Washington where he emphasized the need for Latinamerican countries to advance in agreements with the United States.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2013 - 08:37 UTC

  Obama and Piñera in the White House renew push for a trans-Pacific trade agreement

  

  US President Barack Obama and Chilean President Sebastian Piñera renewed their push for a trans-Pacific trade agreement at a meeting in the White House Oval Office on Tuesday that also touched on education and renewable energy.

• Tuesday, June 4th 2013 - 06:07 UTC

  Chile in US visa waiver program; Obama receives Piñera at the White House

  

  Chilean citizens have been chosen for the US Visa Waiver program, Chilean president Sebastián Piñera announced on Monday in Washington. He is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday to talk trade and other regional issues.