Stories for June 17th 2011

Friday, June 17th 2011 - 22:27 UTC
Uruguay president Mujica approval rating plunges 29 points in 15 months

The approval of Uruguayan president Jose Mujica in Montevideo continues to slide and has plummeted eight points between February and May according to a Mori public opinion poll released this week.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 17:02 UTC
“Corruption in Argentina; the mother of all scandals” by The Economist

Under the heading of “Corruption in Argentina: the mother of all scandals?”, The Economist edition of this week has an article on the controversy surrounding the once-revered human rights group Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 16:52 UTC
ILO sets out ‘historic’ standards for domestic workers around the world

Government, worker and employer delegates at the 100th annual conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted a historic set of international standards aimed at improving the working conditions of tens of millions of domestic workers worldwide.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 16:43 UTC
Venezuelan billionaire teams up with Chinese banks to invest in Latam

Venezuelan billionaire Gustavo Cisneros is setting up joint ventures with Chinese banks to carry out investment in Latin American commodities industries.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 16:33 UTC
Peru cancels construction of Amazon dams; major setback for Brazil

Peruvian environmentalists have welcomed a decision by the country's Energy Ministry to cancel the development of the 1.5GW Inambari Dam in the Amazon basin.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 06:37 UTC
CFK describes PM Cameron’s Falklands’ statement as “mediocre and almost stupid”

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, CFK, described UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s emphatic refusal to discuss Falklands/Malvinas Islands’ sovereignty as “mediocre and almost stupid” and promised to continue indefatigably with the claim in all world forums.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 06:20 UTC
Cristina Fernandez on the campaign trail, expected to announce re-election bid next week

In spite of the volcanic ash cloud that is still hovering over parts of Argentina, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner resumed a round of visits to provinces scheduled to hold elections in the next two weeks and in anticipation of what is considered her decision to bid for re-election next October.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 06:09 UTC
Three RAF Typhoons cannibalized to keep warplanes over Libya

Three Royal Air Force Typhoons, costing £125million each, and similar to those stationed in the Falkland Islands are being cannibalized at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to cover a desperate shortage of parts and keep warplanes flying over Libya reported the Daily Mail on Thursday.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 06:03 UTC
US current account deficit up 6.3% spurred by imports of more expensive oil

The US current account deficit rose 6.3% to $119.3bn in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department has said. Strong exports of cars, computers and machinery were offset by imports, particularly of more expensive oil.
Friday, June 17th 2011 - 05:54 UTC
Naked Russian woman scientist dances in Arctic waters with Beluga whales

Braving subzero temperatures and underwater conditions, Natalia Avseenko, 36 threw away her inhibitions and her clothes to dive in with the Arctic Beluga whales, in an extremely interesting yet controversial experiment, trying to test the theory that the Beluga whales don’t like to be touched like diving suits, for example.