The Falkland Islands Government, FIG, and Falkland Islanders have welcomed the announcement of a new £20m landmine clearance commitment by the UK which will make safe dozens of areas which have been unusable for residents and visitors. The project financed by the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defense will clear 46 minefields over the next two years and prepare for clearance another 27. So far more than 30 minefields have been cleared in the Falklands in recent years and this is in line with the UK obligations under the Ottawa Treaty.
The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has welcomed the agreement made between the Argentine and United Kingdom Governments, laid out under this morning’s joint statement. Speaking to the media, Members of the Falkland’s Legislative Assembly stated they “looked forward to a better relationship with Argentina”, especially in the areas of hydrocarbons, fisheries, shipping and tourism.
The World Shearing Championships Committee finds another gear as the World Event quickly approaches. Being held in Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand from the 9th to the 11th February in the ILT Stadium Southland, not only is the committee excited about hosting this event but Southland and New Zealand is getting behind a first in the South Island and only 5th time being held in New Zealand over a 40 year period (1980, 1988, 1996, 2012 – Masterton)
Canada's Agrium and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan said they would combine, a deal that would create a fertilizer and farm retailing giant with pro-forma enterprise value of US$36 billion but also trigger U.S. regulatory scrutiny.
One person has been killed and four others left seriously injured in Marseille after an accident on board the Harmony of the Seas, the world's largest cruise liner. The fatal accident comes just three months after the cruise liner hit the high seas for its much-hyped inaugural voyage. The victim was from the Philippines and was aged 42-years-old. The other victims were three Filipinos and an Indian man.
The chapter on the South Atlantic establishes that the 1989 formula on sovereignty of the Falklands will not be affected and that the appropriate measures will be taken to remove all obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development of the Islands
The Minister of State for Europe and the Americas, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Alan Duncan, visited Argentina on 12 and 13 September. The principal reason for the visit was to enhance bilateral consultations with the Argentine Foreign Ministry and attend the Business and Investment Forum organised by the Argentine Government.
The British Government and the Government of Argentina have agreed to an improved relationship through closer co-operation on areas of mutual interest, including on trade, security and the South Atlantic. A UK-Argentine joint statement has been agreed and released on Tuesday 13 September, following a series of high level meetings in Buenos Aires with Sir Alan Duncan - the first Foreign Office Minister to visit Argentina since 2009.
Brazil on Tuesday launched a multibillion-dollar plan to auction off oil, power rights and infrastructure concessions, in an attempt by the new government to bolster private investment in a moribund economy. The government will sell operating licenses for airports in the cities of Porto Alegre, Salvador, Florianopolis and Fortaleza by the first quarter of 2017. It also plans to sell rights to operate federal roads in the center-west and south regions later next year.
The former president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, will head the first Electoral Observation Mission that the OAS will deploy to the United States and that will observe the upcoming November 8 elections.