Stories for 2011

Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 05:43 UTC
Argentina creates first political wine: ‘El Justicialista’ to honour President Peron

Three times Argentine president Juan Domingo Peron has his own brand of wine, “El Justicialista” following on the name of the populist movement the General founded in the late forties last century and has dominated Argentina politics ever since.
Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 05:40 UTC
Lord Mandelson calls for UK to boost trade with Bric countries

Britain could boost its exports by £27 billion if it increased its share of trade with four of the world's fastest growing economies, Lord Mandelson has said. In a speech in London, the former business secretary drew attention to findings that suggest UK exports to Brazil, Russia, India and China - the so-called 'Bric countries' - are lagging behind the rest of the world.
Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 05:33 UTC
Nuclear emergency and thousands of residents evacuated

The Japanese government declared a state of emergency at five nuclear reactors as cooling systems failed. Authorities battled Saturday to contain rising pressure at the plants damaged by a massive earthquake and were moving tens of thousands of residents from the area.
Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 05:21 UTC
Japan begins huge relief effort: hundreds killed but more feared disappeared

A mammoth relief mission is swinging into action in north-east Japan, a day after it was struck by a devastating tsunami, claiming hundreds of lives. Whole villages have been washed away and at least one town has been largely destroyed.
Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 01:07 UTC
Falklands’ encouraging Illex season: 88 jigging licences issued

Following on from the appearance of what appears to have been more jiggers than normal in Stanley harbour recently, Falkland Islands Director of Natural Resources John Barton says there are some 80 Illex jiggers licensed and fishing in Falkland Islands zones at present, and 88 jigging licences have been issued.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 04:43 UTC
How Argentina torpedoed Uruguay’s FTA with the US, according to Wikileaks

Although in public former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner was supportive of Uruguay’s negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, members of his cabinet warned the US embassy in Buenos Aires that Argentina would block such an initiative in Mercosur, according to the contents of several Wikileaks cables published in Montevideo and Buenos Aires.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 04:12 UTC
Setback for Timerman: judge files case involving US Air Force aircraft

A new delicate situation has emerged for Argentina’s Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman after a judge decided to file the case involving the seizing of allegedly “sensitive material” from a US Air Force aircraft that landed in Buenos Aires main airport last month.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 01:48 UTC
In spite of inflation, Bank of England leaves interest rates at record low 0.5%

UK interest rates have been held again at their record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. There has now been no change to the Bank rate for two years, despite the fact that inflation is currently twice the Bank's target rate.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 01:23 UTC
European Parliament casts uncertainty over EU/Mercosur trade talks

This week’s strong statement from the European Parliament warning about concessions that ‘can adversely affect European farmers’, precisely a week before Mercosur and EU delegates meet in Brussels to advance trade discussions has caused a certain degree of uncertainty among the South American group delegates.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 00:53 UTC
Decline of bees’ colonies threatens pollination, essential for growing more crops

More than a dozen factors, ranging from declines in flowering plants and the use of memory-damaging insecticides to the world-wide spread of pests and air pollution, may be behind the emerging decline of bee colonies across many parts of the globe.