Stories for March 2013

Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:35 UTC
Francis first beatification could be a Franciscan friar killed by Argentine military

A Franciscan friar tortured and killed by Argentina’s last civil-military dictatorship, could become the first religious leader to be beatified by Pope Francis according to a piece in the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:29 UTC
Suspended potash project top officials left Argentina following union threats

Top officials from the Brazilian mining company Vale which suspended a 6 billion dollars potash development project in Argentina left the country for Sao Paulo last Friday following “on instructions from the security department” of the corporation, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:26 UTC
Mining and construction boom fuelled Chilean economy in 2012, growing 5.6%

Chile’s GDP expanded 5.6% in 2012 as a boom in the mining and real estate industries demand boosted investment and sparked an increase in consumer spending. The economy grew 5.7% in the fourth quarter from 2011, the central bank said in a report on its website.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:22 UTC
FAO first wheat forecasts for 2013 anticipates second largest crop on record

First forecasts for the 2013 wheat harvest point to production increasing to 690 million tons, 4.3% up on 2012. This would be the second largest crop on record, according to the latest issue of FAO quarterly “Crop Prospects and Food Situation” report. The production hike is expected mostly in Europe, driven by increased plantings in response to high prices and a recovery in yields in some countries, notably the Russian Federation.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:13 UTC
For Argentina’s tax-revenue office Afip, Malvinas are a foreign territory, most probably British

Despite persistent claims before the world, and his Holiness, that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine, for the tax office in Buenos Aires in practical terms they really are a foreign country, according to the latest resolution which applies an additional fee of 20% to tickets and overseas expenditure with Argentine debit or credit cards.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:08 UTC
Chinese leadership pledges new relationship with US and demands respect for ‘core interests’

Chinese President Xi Jinping told US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Beijing on Tuesday that he wants to build a new type of relationship with Washington centred on core interests.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 08:00 UTC
Germany warns Cyprus ‘banks might never reopen’ if terms of bailout are rejected

Germany's finance minister has warned Cyprus that its crisis-stricken banks may never be able to reopen if it rejects the terms of a bailout. Wolfgang Schaeuble said major Cypriot banks were “insolvent if there are no emergency funds”.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 07:54 UTC
UK reopens embassy in Paraguay in July and names Latam expert ambassador

The UK has appointed ambassador to Paraguay as part of the current government’s plan to recover lost ground in Latinamerica. The British embassy in Asunción was closed in 2005 and has since had a non resident ambassador based in Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 07:46 UTC
Venezuelan presidential candidate Capriles pledges “not another drop of oil to Cuba”

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate on Monday vowed to end the OPEC nation's shipments of subsidized oil to the Castro brothers regime in Cuba, slamming acting President as a puppet of Havana.
Wednesday, March 20th 2013 - 07:41 UTC
South Atlantic patrol HMS Argyll saves the life of a Japanese fisherman in high seas

Sailors onboard the South Atlantic patrol Royal Navy HMS Argyll saved the life of a Japanese fisherman who had suffered a serious head injury off the coast of Africa. Approximately 20 miles off the Cape Verde coast she received news that a fisherman onboard the trawler Wakashio Maru No 82 had been seriously hurt in an accident 24 hours earlier.