Stories for March 2012

Monday, March 19th 2012 - 15:36 UTC
Latam risks in 2012: commodities’ prices, China and European banks

The economy of Latin America and the Caribbean should grow 3.6% this year, down from recent rates above 5% as slower expansion in China, a soft recovery in the US and debt woes in Europe weigh on the global economy.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 14:52 UTC
Cuba detains Ladies in White ahead of the visit by Pope Benedict XVI

Cuban authorities detained on Sunday about 70 members of the dissident group Ladies in White, drawing fresh attention to human rights issues days ahead of a visit by Pope Bendict XVI.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 14:42 UTC
HMS Protector dares ice pack to pick up scientists in remote Antarctic island

The Royal Navy’s Antarctic patrol ship HMS Protector had to punch her way through ice to first deliver, then pick up a team of scientists as the pack ice threatened to trap them – and the ship.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 11:18 UTC
Maverick Norwegian yachtsman Jarle Andhoy is in trouble again.

According to press reports from Norway and New Zealand over the weekend, the 54-foot yacht steel yacht Nilaya is reported to be sailing off Antarctica with a broken boom and is heading for an unspecified Argentine Antarctic base to carry out emergency repairs and to refuel.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 07:01 UTC
Rousseff expected at the White House but with no ‘state visit’ privilege

Next April 9 Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is expected in the White House and although formally relations are ‘excellent’, Brazil and the US have many dissenting issues, according to Andres Oppenheimer from the Miami Herald and considered an expert in Latin American affairs from the US perspective.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 06:57 UTC
Moody’s confirms Uruguay closer to investment grade rating based on debt management

Uruguay is likely to be the next Latin American country to win an investment grade rating from Moody's Investors Service, with a review likely late this year, a senior officer from the ratings agency said on Sunday.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 06:54 UTC
Recalling the phrase “Argentines are crooks from the first to the last”

“You were right, or at least that is what Argentines I come across in the street tell me”, said former Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle. In effect Batlle became world famous in 2002 for his phrase describing the River Plate neighbours: “Argentines are a bunch of crooks, from the first to the last, from A to Z”.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 06:51 UTC
Uruguay strongly advocates for “free and fluid trade” in Unasur meeting

Uruguay’s Economy minister Fernando Lorenzo called on other members of Unasur, Union of South American Nations, to ensure free trade in the region as a safeguard and guarantee for the sustained growth of country-members in time.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 06:49 UTC
Greenland’s ice sheet melting much faster that forecasted

Greenland’s ice sheet is more sensitive to global warming than previously thought, according to Spanish and German researchers. The ice sheet may lose its ability to grow once warming reaches 1.6 degrees, a study published in Nature Climate Change found.
Monday, March 19th 2012 - 06:44 UTC
Falklands’ oil company delays report on deep water exploratory drilling

UK based oil firm Borders & Southern pushed back the time frame for initial results from an exploration campaign offshore the Falkland Islands after a deep water well experienced technical issues.