By Trent Boultinghouse - This week marked the 39th anniversary of the Chilean coup d’etat that ousted the constitutional president of Chile, Salvador Allende, from office and gave rise to the vicious dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet was known for his adherence as an unabashed apostle to a hard-lined laissez-faire free market economic policy that was widely seen as the impetus for Chile’s economic revival.
The Falkland Islands Sand Bay abattoir is busily in the midst of preparing for the oncoming season, confirmed Assistant Manager Dave Roberts this week. He said there was a small amount of upgrade work to complete, “which couldn’t be done at the start of last export season, and this is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.”
Anticipating a greater demand for housing from oil developers and support activities the Falkland Islands government is advancing plans to further expand Stanley. Additional funding to take in phase two of the Sapper Hill housing development to the south of Stanley has been approved by the Standing Finance Committee totalling £1.3 million for a further 27 housing plots.
The individual average annual income of the Falkland Islands residents totals £ 20.100 (approx 32.000 US dollars) according to data from the latest 2012 Census, which also showed an exceptionally high economic activity rate and a very tight labour market with just 1% unemployment and 20% of residents with a second job.
The whistleblower in a breakthrough tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS AG has won a record-setting 104 million dollars reward from the US Internal Revenue Service, a handsome payout that could entice more informants to come forward.
Germany's Constitutional Court gave a green light for the country to ratify the Euro zone's new bailout fund and budget pact, but insisted the German parliament have veto powers over any future increases in the size of the fund.
The Falkland Islands Government announced this week the appointment of Nicola Granger to the post of Financial Secretary for the Falkland Islands Government. Ms Granger steps into the role permanently from the Head of Finance Position when Keith Padgett became Chief Executive.
Argentine main opposition groups, parties and unions, have been rallying in an attempt to counter the alleged intentions of the Cristina Fernandez administration to sponsor a constitutional reform that would enable her to bid for a third consecutive presidential mandate in 2015.
Hosting the Olympics two years after staging the World Cup was always going to be a big task but the success of London 2012 has raised the bar even further, according to Brazil's deputy sports minister Luis Fernandes. With the Olympic flame now out in London, all eyes turn to the Brazilian powerhouse and the clock is already ticking for the 2016 Games.
Finally the Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman family decided not to celebrate the marriage of their eldest daughter Jordana in Uruguay’s most exclusive resort but rather in Buenos Aires.