Stories for July 2013

Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 07:23 UTC
Rio subway breakdown adds to Monday’s security lapses in Pope Francis visit

Rio de Janeiro's subway broke down on Tuesday, causing chaos for throngs of pilgrims in town for a huge Catholic gathering and a papal visit already marked by security lapses. Crowds of people crammed into buses, scrambled to find taxis or began walking toward Copacabana beach for an evening mass to officially kick off World Youth Day.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 07:19 UTC
Mass with 400.000 Catholics in Copacabana beach marks opening of World Youth Day

Around 400,000 Roman Catholics have joined a Tuesday evening ceremony on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro to mark the opening of World Youth Day. The highlight of the festival will be a visit on Thursday by Pope Francis.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 07:15 UTC
Mujica flies to Havana to meet the Castro brothers and celebrate 60 years of Cuba’s revolution

Uruguayan president and former guerrilla Jose Mujica left Tuesday night for Cuba where he is scheduled to hold meetings with President Raul Castro, the revolution leader Fidel Castro and attend the celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of the assault on the Moncada military fort.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 07:12 UTC
Argentina trade surplus up 26.9% in June as grains and oilseed exports get moving

Argentina's June trade surplus grew by 26.9% to 1.16 billion dollars from 910 million in the same month last year, but the six month period was down 26%, the government's national statistics institute Indec said on Tuesday.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 07:09 UTC
Cristina Fernandez candidate for Army Chief questioned over human rights record

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has defended the designation of César Milani as head of the Armed Forces, and complained that “those who previously voted for the Due Obedience and Final Stop laws put in doubt” her administration's “human rights record”.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 07:03 UTC
South Georgia coin with privy mark to congratulate the Royal Couple

Following the birth of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Cambridge, Pobjoy Mint has announced the release of three coins which have had a special privy mark added to them to congratulate the Royal Couple and to commemorate the historic occasion. The coins will be released on behalf of British Virgin Islands and South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 06:59 UTC
IMF backs down from siding with Argentina before the US Supreme Court on hedge funds case

The International Monetary Fund no longer plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review Argentina's case in its decade-old legal battle with holdout creditors due to a lack of support from the U.S. government, the IMF said on Tuesday.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 06:56 UTC
Fed expected to trim bond buying to 65bn in September, says Bloomberg survey

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in September will trim the Fed’s monthly bond buying to 65 billion from the current pace of 85 billion dollars, according to a growing number of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 06:51 UTC
Argentina confirms one million dollars fines on each of four vessels caught illegally fishing

Argentina’s Fisheries Under Secretariat confirmed huge fines for three fishing vessels from China and one Spanish which were allegedly caught during the last six months illegally fishing in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone, EEZ off the coast of Chubut province.
Wednesday, July 24th 2013 - 06:40 UTC
Treasure explorers recover 61 tons of silver bullion in waters three miles deep

Odyssey Marine Exploration said it has recovered more than 61 tons of silver bullion this month from a depth of nearly three miles. This recovery of bullion from the SS Gairsoppa, a 412-foot steel-hulled British cargo ship that sank in February 1941, consists of 1,574 silver ingots weighing about 1,100 ounces each or almost 1.8 million troy ounces in total, sets a new record for the deepest and largest precious metal recovery from a shipwreck. The silver has been transported to a secure facility in UK.