Stories for April 24th 2012

Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 21:52 UTC
Independent oil company plans major expansion in Chile, Argentina and Colombia

Latin American independent oil and gas explorer GeoPark Holdings Ltd is planning a major expansion of its activities in 19 licensed blocks in three countries with the purpose of significantly increasing oil and gas production in the next 18 months, according to a report released by the company.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 21:25 UTC
Strong sterling and UK prices have vacation Britons fleeing to the continent

Soaring sterling rates are giving Britons and Gibraltarians as much as 14% more cash for their summer 2012 trips to Euro Europe compared with last year, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 21:20 UTC
Timerman caught by EU Commissioner De Gucht in a major diplomatic blunder

Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman is in the middle of a major diplomatic blunder through a baffling series of statements regarding a letter sent by the EU to his office last week, according to a report published in the Buenos Aires Herald.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 20:58 UTC
EU preparing to lodge a complaint at WTO against Argentina import restrictions

The European Union is planning to lodge a complaint at the World Trade Organization over Argentina's import restrictions and is seeking other trading partners to back its presentation, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday according to news agencies.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 20:51 UTC
Cuba plans private sector to take over 50% of the economy in five years

Cuba will move nearly 50% of the state's economic activity to the “non-state” sector a senior Communist party official said, the latest signal the island is headed toward a mixed economy.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 19:19 UTC
Argentina formalizes proposal for air link with Falklands and resumption of fisheries’ cooperation

Argentina made a formal proposal to the UK for the establishment of direct flights from Argentina to the Falklands and to resume cooperation in the conservation of fishery resources in the South Atlantic, indicates a release posted on Tuesday in the Argentine Foreign Ministry site.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 06:38 UTC
S&P downgrades Argentina’s outlook to ‘negative’ spurred by policies enacted since October 2011

Rating Agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Argentina’s economic and financial outlook to “negative,” after the expropriation of YPF, which endangers the “B” rating the country has for its sovereign debt.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 06:31 UTC
Three Chilean universities among top 100 in Latam; two Brazilian and a Mexican rank first

Three Chilean research universities have placed in the top 100 Latin American universities, according to a new study released last week by Iberoamericano SIR 2012.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 06:28 UTC
Independent press and journalists, targets of state controlled media in Latam

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) concluded on Monday its half-yearly meeting, held in Cádiz, Spain, with ratification of its conclusions, in which it declared that: “The main problems facing the press in the Americas are crimes against journalists for the sole fact that they are performing their work under governments of democratic origin, but which are authoritarian and use state-controlled media to persecute and defame the independent press”.
Tuesday, April 24th 2012 - 06:25 UTC
Iceland forgives ex PM for 2008 financial crisis and meltdown of the economy

Former Icelandic PM Geir Haarde has been found not guilty of negligence over the 2008 financial crisis that saw the island's economy go into meltdown. A special court in Reykjavik said Mr Haarde would face no punishment and his legal expenses would be paid for.