United States

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 05:01 UTC

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Picardo met President Obama during his inauguration

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo had the opportunity to meet the President of the United States Barrack Obama during his five-day visit to Washington, No 6 said on Wednesday.

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 04:43 UTC

  Monsanto reaches agreement on patent royalties with Brazilian soybean farmers

  

  Monsanto the world’s biggest seed company agreed to waive two years of royalties on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds for Brazilian farmers who agree to forgo claims in a patent dispute.

• Wednesday, January 23rd 2013 - 08:51 UTC

  Republicans prepared to vote a four-month extension of US borrowing capacity

  

  Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives have scheduled a vote on Wednesday on a nearly four-month extension of US borrowing capacity, but the bill does not specify a dollar amount.

• Tuesday, January 22nd 2013 - 01:35 UTC

  Obama acknowledges Hispanic electoral and political influence in inauguration speech

  

  President Barack Obama's inauguration on Monday had a marked Hispanic accent with the prominent participation of speakers and personalities from the country's biggest minority group, and a pledge to overcome the on-going immigration controversy.

• Monday, January 21st 2013 - 11:28 UTC

  Transcripts show Federal Reserve underestimated looming 2007 crisis

  

  The US Federal Reserve may have underestimated the looming 2007 global financial crisis released transcripts from its meetings that year have shown. The documents suggested Fed Governor Ben Bernanke wanted to hold off from addressing rising panic in the markets.

• Sunday, January 20th 2013 - 19:40 UTC

  Obama begins his second mandate; the public ceremony and pomp on Monday

  

  Barack Obama has officially been sworn in for his second term as US president in a small ceremony at the White House. Although the US Constitution requires the oath of office to be taken by noon on 20 January, that falls on a Sunday so the public inauguration will take place on Monday.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 06:02 UTC

  Venezuela wants best of relations with the US based on ‘mutual absolute respect’

  

  Vice-president Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that Venezuela is willing to have the ‘best possible relations’ with the US government as long as these are based on respect and equality. He added that it was President Hugo Chavez who instructed the newly named Foreign minister Elias Jaua on the issue.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 22:00 UTC

  Cuba admits 51 cholera cases in Havana; travel warnings from UK and US

  

  Cuba's Public Health Ministry on Tuesday acknowledged 51 new cases of cholera in the capital Havana amid growing concerns about the illness' spread and disappointment in the diplomatic community over the government's lack of transparency.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 06:53 UTC

  US waiting for Venezuela situation to ‘clear up’; insists constitution must be complied

  

  United States and other Latinamerican countries wish the situation in Venezuela ‘clears up’, said Roberta S. Jacobson Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, currently in Spain as part of a visit that also includes the UK and Belgium.

• Tuesday, January 15th 2013 - 06:49 UTC

  Battle over the debt ceiling rages; Bernanke warns economy still too weak

  

  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged US lawmakers to lift the country's borrowing limit to avoid a potentially disastrous debt default, warning that the economy was still at risk from political gridlock over the deficit.