United States

• Wednesday, December 28th 2011 - 03:29 UTC

  Chile signs strategic science and education agreement with Massachusetts

  

  The Chilean government has signed a strategic bilateral agreement with the state of Massachusetts, opening the way for collaborative research in the key areas of education, energy and biotechnology.

• Wednesday, December 28th 2011 - 03:27 UTC

  US criticizes Japan for intervening to halt the rise of the Yen in the last 6 months

  

  The US Treasury on Tuesday criticized Japan's interventions to halt the Yen's rise in the last six months, saying they were unnecessary and that Tokyo would do better to strengthen its domestic economy and competitiveness.

• Wednesday, December 28th 2011 - 03:25 UTC

  US calls for appreciation of the Yuan but falls short of labelling China a currency manipulator

  

  United States announced it will press for further appreciation of the Yuan arguing the currency is undervalued, while declining to brand China a manipulator of its exchange rate.

• Tuesday, December 27th 2011 - 13:53 UTC

  Argentine human rights reference openly criticizes the Anti-Terrorism law

  

  The president of Argentina’s Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization, Estela de Carlotto, has joined Justice Raúl Zaffaroni and other sectors from the country in criticizing the recently passed Anti-terrorism Law.

• Tuesday, December 27th 2011 - 13:52 UTC

  Cuba advances with capitalist reforms to install efficient market economy

  

  Cuba will open up more of the country's retail services to the private sector next year, allowing Cubans to operate various services such as appliance and watch repair, and locksmith and carpentry shops, official media reported on Monday.

• Tuesday, December 27th 2011 - 09:43 UTC

  How US campaigns and elections shaped politics across the world

  

  * By Andrew Hammond - The eyes of much of North America and South America will this coming year be on the US presidential and congressional elections as Democrats and Republicans fight it out for control of the White House, the US House of Representatives, and the US Senate. The ballots could have key implications not just for US domestic issues, but also US foreign policy across the Americas region, including in Cuba and Venezuela.

• Monday, December 26th 2011 - 11:23 UTC

  Brazil slaps another fine on Chevron for November oil spill off Rio do Janeiro

  

  Brazil's Environment Institute ordered US oil giant Chevron to pay another fine related to the early November oil spill off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

• Saturday, December 24th 2011 - 03:47 UTC

  Merry Christmas from MercoPress

  

  MercoPress wishes a happy holiday season to all its readers.

• Friday, December 23rd 2011 - 05:32 UTC

  The Independent: “Time to talk about the Falklands”

  

  In an Opinion piece, “Time to talk about the Falklands”, The Independent suggests the time might have come to defuse the situation in the South Atlantic and take up last year’s offer from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to broker between Britain and Argentina.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 00:32 UTC

  Chavez tells Obama “leave us alone” and called him “clown” and an “embarrassment”

  

  President Hugo Chavez called on Barack Obama to stop meddling in Venezuelan affairs, “leave us alone” and described the US leader as a “clown” and an “embarrassment”. Chavez is currently in Montevideo for the Mercosur summit.