Stories for August 2010

Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 19:26 UTC
Swiss win the “gruyere-war” certification over French cheese producers

French gruyere producers have given up trying to win the coveted appellation d'origine controlée (AOC) certification, ceding the official label to the Swiss. They had been planning to take the matter to the European Commission, but decided against the risk: if their demand for the label had been rejected, they would have lost the right to call their cheese gruyere at all.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 19:18 UTC
HMS Gloucester sets sail for the Falklands next Friday

A Royal Navy destroyer will set sail for the Falkland Islands from Portsmouth to maintain Britain's interests in the South Atlantic, reports Royal Navy News.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 19:16 UTC
Australian PM wants to cut ties with British monarchy and establish a republic

Australia should drop its ties to the British monarchy when the Queen’s reign ends, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said this week in the midst of national election campaigning.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 19:11 UTC
Bank of England warns about high inflation; rate won’t drop to 2% until mid 2012

The Governor of the Bank of England warned of the dangers of ‘destructive’ high inflation after admitting his surprise that the rise in the UK cost of living continues to overshoot targets, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 19:01 UTC
Printed media also victim of Venezuelan rampant crime

A judge in Venezuela has ruled that all printed news media cannot publish “violent, bloody or grotesque” photographs for the next 30 days because the pictures can cause psychological and moral harm to children.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 05:16 UTC
Argentine Catholic Church reiterates “concern” with insecurity increase

The Catholic Church again expressed “concern” about the increase in crime and insecurity during the opening of the 156th Episcopate Permanent Committee Summit presided by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 05:12 UTC
Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff closer to winning in the first round

Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff widened her lead to 11 percentage points over opposition candidate Jose Serra, putting her in position to win in the first round of the October election, according to an Ibope poll published by the TV Globo network.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 05:02 UTC
Brazilian journalists challenge law which forbids satirizing candidates

An election law from the era of Brazil's dictatorship past which forbids making fun of candidates has caused concern ahead of the countries October 3 presidential election and a possible run-off at the end of October.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 04:53 UTC
Military exercise to defend the Panama Canal brings together 18 countries

More than 2,000 civilian and military personnel from 18 countries began a 12-day exercise in Panama City Tuesday to train in a joint, multinational effort to defend the Panama Canal.
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 - 04:50 UTC
Spanish fishing vessels threatening to abandon the port of Montevideo

Spanish fishing vessel owners have warned Uruguayan port authorities that they are considering leaving the port of Montevideo because of the costly labour disputes with crew members when the vessels dock, taking advantage of a very ‘misbalanced’ legislation.