Stories for December 2011

Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 18:50 UTC
The grueling three-country Dakar Rally takes off from Mar del Plata to Lima

The 33 edition of the Dakar Rally got off to a symbolic start on Saturday ahead of a 15-day race that will take 466 registered competitors from Argentina through Chile to a finish in Lima, Peru.
Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 18:43 UTC
A Malvinas war veteran dies in an attempt to cross to the Falklands in a kayak

A Malvinas war veteran drowned in an attempt to reach the Falkland Islands in a kayak from Ushuaia while his companion was rescued by an Argentine Navy patrol and is in hospital in a state of chock, reported the Buenos Aires press in the last day of 2011.
Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 18:28 UTC
“Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy year!”

By Nouriel Roubini (*) - The outlook for the global economy in 2012 is clear, but it isn’t pretty: recession in Europe, anemic growth at best in the United States, and a sharp slowdown in China and in most emerging-market economies.
Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 03:32 UTC
More than 100 journalists killed in 2011; call on the UN for protection action

More than 100 journalists or other media staffs were killed in 2011, up from last year's toll, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said, calling on UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon to act to help protect the profession.
Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 03:26 UTC
UK awards 46 offshore hydrocarbons exploratory licences in controversial areas

UK government has awarded 46 new offshore exploratory drilling licences to firms, including Shell and Centrica, looking for oil and gas. The awards were initially held back due to environmental concerns.
Saturday, December 31st 2011 - 03:18 UTC
Thatcher was warned about risks of Navy cuts a year before the Falklands conflict

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was warned about the risks in slashing Britain's navy, a year before the 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, secret files released Friday showed.
Friday, December 30th 2011 - 21:55 UTC
Cristina Fernandez in Patagonia for New Year; Wednesday surgery

Argentine President Cristina Fernández left on Friday for Santa Cruz province to her home in El Calafate to spend the New Year celebrations with her son Máximo, daughter Florencia and other family members. Next Wednesday she is scheduled to undergo thyroid cancer surgery.
Friday, December 30th 2011 - 21:51 UTC
How the Gibraltar naval dockyard was saved from the axe back in 1981

British ministers feared the closure of Gibraltar’s naval dockyard would throw the local budget into “chronic deficit” and precipitate a “constitutional crisis” according to newly-released files, some of which were published by the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Friday, December 30th 2011 - 21:45 UTC
Business as usual says North Korea regime; calls Seoul politicians ‘foolish puppets’

North Korea sounded on Friday a bellicose note in its first communication with the outside world since the death of leader Kim Jong-il, saying its confrontational stance against South Korea would not change and labelling its opponents “foolish.”
Friday, December 30th 2011 - 21:39 UTC
New Spanish government announces draconian measures to balance the budget

Spain's new government revealed on Friday that the public deficit for 2011 would come in at 8% of GDP, well above a target of 6%, and announced income and property tax hikes and a civil servant wage freeze in response.