As when she first joined the Fleet in 1982, HMS Illustrious has once again been formally welcomed into the bosom of the Royal Navy with a rededication ceremony at sea. The aircraft carrier held the ceremony as she returned from Hamburg - the ship's first visit to a foreign port in more than two years.
The reception held on Wednesday at the Falkland Islands Government House to recognise the community work of Capt. Andrew Brownlee, who earlier this year in Buckingham Palace was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours, and the announcements this week from two local charities that recent events had raised over £17,000 from within the community, highlight a tight-knit community where charity begins at home and people are more than willing to give up their time and contribute to helping their neighbour.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague and Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro will discuss the Falklands/Malvinas flagged vessels issue on Friday according to a release from the British embassy in Montevideo
“Very soon we are going to have an ambassador in the United Kingdom” announced Argentine president Cristina Fernandez. The post has remained vacant since 2008 and the announcement comes in the midst of a new round of the ongoing dispute with the UK over the Falklands and other South Atlantic Islands sovereignty.
A report from the Uruguayan Coast Guard argues there is no legislation impeding Falklands/Malvinas flagged vessels from operating in the port of Montevideo. The report was handed to the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is drafting a protocol regarding what ships can and which can’t access Uruguayan ports.
The proposal, reported by “The Scotsman” newspaper earlier this month, of television archaeologist and University of Glasgow academic, Dr. Tony Pollard to excavate the battlefields of the 1982 Falkland Islands conflict next year during the 30th Anniversary of the conflict have been abandoned.
Following the election last week of two new members to the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, MLA Dr Barry Elsby and MLA Ian Hansen, councillors have favoured stability and continuity in the allocation of portfolio responsibility, with the newly elected councillors largely taking on the responsibilities left vacant by the resignation of former members, Emma Edwards and Bill Luxton.
Brazil’s first woman president Dilma Rousseff popularity climbed in December to reach 72%, almost the same level, 73%, when she took office January first 2011, according to a public opinion poll from Ibope released earlier this week.
New Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy named on Wednesday a cabinet of mostly close advisers charged with reviving the sluggish economy while slashing spending to reassure investors the Euro zone's No. 4 economy can stay solvent.
Brazilian meat processors BRF Brasil Foods and Marfrig announced a deal on Thursday to trade assets, including a block of properties that Brazilian anti-trust body CADE mandated to be sold as part of the Sadia and Perdigao approval in July.