Stories for March 13th 2012

Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 22:28 UTC
Dressed as rugby players, Argentine lobbyists plan third visit, next April

Despite the Falklands Legislative Assembly and many Islanders voicing their displeasure at the previous activities of an Argentine group of rugby players in the Falklands, Rugby Sin Fronteras (Rugby without Frontiers) are planning a third visit on April 13, this year.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 12:26 UTC
New Oceanites Antarctic Compendium Available

Ron Naveen, President of Oceanites, announced that the new compendium, covering 142 different sites on the Antarctic Peninsula, can now be downloaded in PDF format at no cost.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:29 UTC
Obama and Cameron underline the “unique and essential” US/UK relation

Cameron and Barack Obama have described the “unique and essential” relationship between the US and UK ahead of a visit by the prime minister to Washington. In a joint article for the Washington Post, the two leaders said “the world counts on our alliance”.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:26 UTC
Brazil extends 6% tax on foreign loans and bonds to help weaken the Real

Brazil extended on Monday a 6% tax on foreign loans and bonds issued abroad by local companies to include lending with duration of as long as five years, the third measure taken this month to weaken the Real. Since March 1, the currency has weakened 5.6%.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:24 UTC
First deadline for Repsol-YPF: invest or loose concessions in Chubut

Argentine Patagonia Chubut province could move to revoke oil and gas concessions held by Spain’s Repsol controlled oil and gas giant YPF SA as soon as Wednesday, a provincial official said Monday.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:21 UTC
“Argentina completely ignores the Mercosur treaty and spirit” says Uruguay

Uruguayan Vice-president Danilo Astori strongly criticized the current situation in Mercosur blasting protectionist measures of both Argentina and Brazil, which together with Paraguay are full members of the block
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:13 UTC
An alliance the world can count on

By Barack Obama and David Cameron (*) - Seven decades ago, as our forces began to turn the tide of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Washington to coordinate our joint efforts. Our victories on the battlefield proved “what can be achieved by British and Americans working together heart and hand,” he said. “In fact, one might almost feel that if they could keep it up, there is hardly anything they could not do, either in the field of war or in the not less tangled problems of peace.”
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:09 UTC
Exceptional rainfall and flash floods leave Punta Arenas under water

Sunday rains and flash floods in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile have left an estimated 800 people homeless forcing the city to close schools while the local chapter of the National Emergency office, Onemi, raised the alarm level from orange (moderate) to red (maximum).
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:07 UTC
India confirms ban on cotton exports; China furious makes official complaint

India will keep a controversial ban on its cotton exports for now after ministers failed to agree its fate at the weekend, even after top buyer China had criticised the move, which boosted global prices.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:03 UTC
Goldman Sachs says Brazil’ Real needs to decline 20% to remain competitive

Jim O'Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, lent his support to Brazilian policy makers' efforts to weaken the Real, saying it needs to decline 20% to keep Latin America's biggest economy competitive.