Stories for February 2012

Friday, February 24th 2012 - 20:06 UTC
French women say Mademoiselle is sexist so now it’s simply Madame or Monsieur

Official French documents will no longer force women to reveal their marital status by requiring them to choose the title Mademoiselle or Madame.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 19:31 UTC
Liverpool final homecoming ceremony for Type 42 destroyer that carries city’s name

The City of Liverpool is preparing to give one of its proudest symbols a final homecoming it will never forget is sailing into the city for her last ever official visit, before the vessel is decommissioned following thirty years of outstanding service.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 19:14 UTC
The Malvinas/Falklands: diplomacy interrupted

Sending Prince William to the Malvinas, or Falkland Islands, gives out a message of intimidation. By Sean Penn
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 19:07 UTC
Caritas Spain: 22% of households below poverty line, another 30% on the cliff

A report examining Spain’s current levels of poverty has made national headlines after its launch revealed shocking figures. Caritas Spain has drawn attention to the precariousness facing millions of people at a time when networks of social aid are in danger of disappearing.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 19:03 UTC
Encouraging start for the Falklands 2012 Ilex season: almost 100 jiggers operating

The Falkland Islands government has issued a high number of licenses for the 2012 Ilex season with almost a hundred jiggers operating which compares positively to previous years, according to the Director of Natural Resources John Barton.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 07:53 UTC
Visiting US congressman offers support for Falklands’ self-determination

South American rhetoric on the Falklands should, “be cooled, otherwise mistakes might happen,” US member of the house of Representatives Republican Congressman F. Jim Sensenbrenner told the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 07:46 UTC
Argentine claims of Falklands’ ‘militarization’ is ‘unfounded and baseless’

Argentine claims that the UK is ‘militarizing’ the South Atlantic and the Falklands are ‘unfounded’ and ‘baseless’ according to a letter from British ambassador Mark Lyall-Grant addressed to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 07:43 UTC
EU confirms Euro zone heading for its second recession in three years

The Euro zone's economy is heading into its second recession in just three years, while the wider European Union will stagnate, the EU executive said, warning that the currency area has yet to break its vicious cycle of debt.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 07:38 UTC
Argentina and the price of cooking the books, according to The Economist

History has left Argentines with more than their share of economic trauma. Having twice suffered destructive bouts of hyperinflation in the late 1980s, they are sensitive to rising prices. When they spot inflation their instinct is to dump the peso and buy dollars.
Friday, February 24th 2012 - 07:34 UTC
Extremely rare beaked whales filmed for the first time ever in Australian waters

Australian researchers on Thursday revealed they had filmed a pod of extremely rare Shepherd's beaked whales for the first time ever.The Australian Antarctic Division team was tracking blue whales off the coast of Victoria state in January when they spotted the reclusive mammals, which are so rarely seen that no population estimates of the species exist.