Stories for January 14th 2012
Falkland Islands: Cancellation of the visit of Cruise Vessel Start Princess
Due to a reported outbreak of norovirus on the cruise vessel Star Princess, following agreed protocols, the Chief Medical Officer took the difficult decision not to allow the vessel to land in the Falkland Islands as scheduled. The vessel had been due to arrive in Stanley at 8am on the 14th January.
Piñera and Mujica committed to expand their countries Antarctic efforts
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and his host and peer Sebastián Piñera said they are committed to expand and intensify the presence of their countries in Antarctica which they described as a “continent of peace and of the future”.
Argentine ‘official’ annual inflation, 9.5%; wholesale prices up 12.7%
Argentina’s official inflation in 2011 reached 9.5%, following on December’s Consumer Prices Index (IPC) of 0.8%. Both percentages from the National Stats bureau, Indec are disputed by the Congressional index and private sector estimates which stand at a floor of 22.8% and 1.9%.
EU Commissioner says S&P is “inconsistent” and lauds Euro rescue package
The European Union Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn defended Euro-zone governments' crisis plans Friday, after Standard & Poor's downgraded nine out of 17 of the economic bloc's member states, a decision which he described as “inconsistent”.
S&P Friday the 13th for Euro zone; nine countries suffer the rating scimitar
The worst-kept secret on Wall Street was officially confirmed after the close Friday, when Standard & Poor’s downgraded its sovereign debt rating on France to AA+ from AAA. Spain and Italy saw their ratings cut two notches, while Germany’s AAA rating was left unchanged.
Bolivia ratifies complete support for Argentina’s Malvinas sovereignty claim
Bolivian president Evo Morales said the Malvinas Islands are Argentine and gave full support to his peer Cristina Fernandez siding with Mercosur in the dispute with the UK over the South Atlantic Islands sovereignty and the latest decision to bar all Falklands flagged vessels from regional ports.
Chevron, Repsol and Statoil to drill offshore Newfoundland and Labrador
Chevron Canada Ltd., a big player in Canada's offshore oil industry, has struck a deal with Norwegian and Spanish oil companies to carry out exploration off the coast of Atlantic Canada.
Eight dead and scenes of panic as cruise vessel hits a reef in Italian coast
At least eight people are dead after a cruise ship ran aground off the Italian coast in an accident which forced the Italian coast guard to evacuate over 4000 people, according to Italian media reports.
Brazil warns it is ready to respond to Argentina’s new trade restrictions
Brazil's government is ready to respond to Argentine trade restrictions introduced this week but will evaluate the impact of the measures before making any retaliatory moves, trade officials said Friday.
Link between eating processed meat and pancreatic cancer in Swedish research
A link between eating processed meat, such as bacon or sausages, and pancreatic cancer has been suggested by researchers in Sweden. They said eating an extra 50g of processed meat, approximately one sausage, every day would increase a person's risk by 19%.
