Stories for January 2012

Sunday, January 15th 2012 - 09:32 UTC
Ahmedinejad Visits Latin America, Washington Implores and Seethes

At the best of times, the U.S. government is regarded as somewhat out of touch with what's happening in the American “heartland,” much less the world at large, so much so that the phrase “inside the Beltway” was coined to define the syndrome.
Sunday, January 15th 2012 - 01:10 UTC
Merkel insists EU must seal a pact to tighten fiscal rules

Ratings downgrades in the Euro zone by S&P underline why Europe must seal a pact to tighten fiscal rules quickly and get its permanent bailout fund up and running as soon as possible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.
Sunday, January 15th 2012 - 01:03 UTC
Chavez pledges that if an opposition candidate wins, he will hand power

Venezuela's Hugo Chávez said that if an opposition candidate wins this year's presidential election he will be the first to recognize the rival's victory and hand over power.
Sunday, January 15th 2012 - 01:00 UTC
Cruise captain arrested; 50 to 70 people still missing says Italian Coast Guard

The Italian captain of the cruise ship that ran aground -- killing three persons and injuring 20 more -- was arrested late Saturday and is being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship, said a local prosecutor in Grosetto, Italy.
Sunday, January 15th 2012 - 00:40 UTC
New York ablaze with world music at the ninth annual globalFEST 2012

World music was ablaze once again at the ninth annual globalFEST 2012. The sold out event at New York City’s Webster Hall showcased 12 musical acts from 5 continents on 3 stages.
Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 15:08 UTC
Falkland Islands: Cancellation of the visit of Cruise Vessel Start Princess

Due to a reported outbreak of norovirus on the cruise vessel Star Princess, following agreed protocols, the Chief Medical Officer took the difficult decision not to allow the vessel to land in the Falkland Islands as scheduled. The vessel had been due to arrive in Stanley at 8am on the 14th January.
Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 06:28 UTC
Piñera and Mujica committed to expand their countries Antarctic efforts

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and his host and peer Sebastián Piñera said they are committed to expand and intensify the presence of their countries in Antarctica which they described as a “continent of peace and of the future”.
Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 06:25 UTC
Argentine ‘official’ annual inflation, 9.5%; wholesale prices up 12.7%

Argentina’s official inflation in 2011 reached 9.5%, following on December’s Consumer Prices Index (IPC) of 0.8%. Both percentages from the National Stats bureau, Indec are disputed by the Congressional index and private sector estimates which stand at a floor of 22.8% and 1.9%.
Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 06:22 UTC
EU Commissioner says S&P is “inconsistent” and lauds Euro rescue package

The European Union Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Olli Rehn defended Euro-zone governments' crisis plans Friday, after Standard & Poor's downgraded nine out of 17 of the economic bloc's member states, a decision which he described as “inconsistent”.
Saturday, January 14th 2012 - 06:20 UTC
S&P Friday the 13th for Euro zone; nine countries suffer the rating scimitar

The worst-kept secret on Wall Street was officially confirmed after the close Friday, when Standard & Poor’s downgraded its sovereign debt rating on France to AA+ from AAA. Spain and Italy saw their ratings cut two notches, while Germany’s AAA rating was left unchanged.