Stories for October 25th 2012

Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 17:51 UTC
Reflections from our visit to the Falkland Islands

A group of Central American journalists recently visited the Falkland Islands for a week as guests of the Foreign Office together with Bruce Callow from the UK Costa Rica embassy. The following is a first reflection just back from the Islands in Bruce’s blog.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:47 UTC
ARA Libertad-Romney family link makes Cristina criticize the Republican candidate

Argentine President Cristina Fernández joined the US presidential campaign harshly criticizing Republican candidate Mitt Romney and stating she is “more alike” the current head of state, Democrat Barack Obama, who is running for re-election.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:43 UTC
NML-Capital targeting second Argentine navy vessel docked in South Africa

A second Argentine navy vessel has been targeted by NML-Capital which apparently has contracted a renowned South African law office to impound the corvette ARA Espora.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:39 UTC
US sues Bank of America for mortgage fraud; ex Goldman & Sachs, two years in jail

Bank of America is being sued for 1bn dollars for alleged mortgage fraud. The civil lawsuit has been brought by the US Attorney Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, New York.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:37 UTC
War on drugs has failed and requires new radical reform, says LSE report

The global war on drugs has failed and international policy requires radical reform to remove outmoded, unscientific thinking, according to a major new report from the London School of Economics and Political Science which has been endorsed by President Santos of Colombia.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:34 UTC
Colombia says FARC has an annual budget of 2.4bn and an army of 8.147

Colombian Defence minister Juan Carlos Pinzón said that the guerrilla group FARC make anywhere from 2.4 to 3.5 billion dollars per annum from the drug trade and estimated they have an army of 8.147 members.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:31 UTC
Argentina reaches surplus target but exports in September plummeted 27%

Argentine exports in September experienced their largest drop since the 2009 financial crisis totalling 6.818bn dollars or 12% less than the same month a year ago, according to the latest report on the country’s foreign trade released by INDEC.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 06:28 UTC
Argentine seamen are back in Buenos Aires; small group remains in Ghana

After three weeks retained in Ghana, members of the crew and cadets from the Argentine Navy training vessel ARA Libertad arrived past midnight Wednesday to Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires where relatives and media were waiting.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 00:10 UTC
Fed pledges all efforts and policy tools to combat “elevated” unemployment

In its last meeting before the November 6 presidential election, the Federal Reserve confirmed its current fresh-money support program for the recovery of the US economy arguing that growth continues slowly and unemployment rate “remains elevated”.
Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 00:04 UTC
Argentine lawmakers press Falklands’ issue on UK peers at Parliamentary Union

Argentine lawmakers met with their UK peers and called for an end to unilateral hydrocarbons explorations in Falkland Islands waters and for an end to military exercises in the South Atlantic.