Stories for January 8th 2014

Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 21:21 UTC
Visit Britain thinks Germans are rude, Australians intolerant and Russians cold

VisitBritain, the UK government’s agency with a budget of nearly £30 million a year and tasked with bringing as many visitors to the UK as possible, releases a detailed inside guide on tourists from most destinations for use by British hoteliers and operators.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 20:59 UTC
Gibraltar/La Linea unions and business groups call for free flow of persons across the border

Gibraltarian and Spanish unions and business organizations on Tuesday called on their respective governments to act and implement measures that will guarantee the free flow of persons across the border. In a memorandum that will be sent to the European Commission and the European Parliament, the cross-border group expressed its “absolute aversion” to the current situation at the frontier, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 20:17 UTC
Kennedy in 1963 considered a military intervention in Brazil; a coup followed in 1964

Former US President John F Kennedy mulled possible military intervention in Brazil one year before the 1964 coup that ousted then constitutional president Joao Goulart, according to archive documents released on Tuesday.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:58 UTC
Germany's Wintershall joins Patagonia's Vaca Muerta shale gas and oil rush

Germany's Wintershall signed on Tuesday a farm-in contract with the Argentine Patagonia province of Neuquén to explore Vaca Muerta’s shale gas and oil field. Under the terms of the joint-venture agreement Wintershall together with Gas & Petroleo de Neuquen will explore and develop the Aguada Federal block and are committed to invest 80 million Euros.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:48 UTC
Venezuela's violent crime unstoppable: former beauty queen and husband shot dead

Gunmen shot dead a former Miss Venezuela and her ex-husband in the South American nation, authorities said today. Monica Spear, 29, a soap opera actress, and Henry Berry, 39, died in an attempted robbery on the highway between Puerto Cabello and Valencia in central Venezuela.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:43 UTC
BOT Turks and Caicos former premier extradited from Brazil to face corruption charges

The former premier of the British Overseas Territory Turks and Caicos has been extradited back to the territory to face corruption charges, officials said Tuesday. Michael Misick arrived at JAGS McCartney International Airport in the capital Grand Turk early Tuesday from Brazil, the Turks and Caicos Islands Governor's Office said.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:39 UTC
IDB loans, guarantees and grants totaled nearly 14bn dollars in 2013

According to preliminary data, in 2013 the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, approved 167 financing packages worth some 14 billion dollars, a figure surpassed only by that of 2009, when the Bank´s financing hit a 15.9bn in response to the global economic crisis.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:34 UTC
When talking fuel, Mexico and Argentina the better off; Colombia and Uruguay bottom of the list

Taking as reference the ratio between the average salary and the price of gasoline in six Latam countries, Mexican and Argentine consumers are the better off when it comes to filling up the tank while for Uruguay and Colombia the ratio is the least favorable.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:28 UTC
Record car sale in Argentina in 2013, but 2014 is full of uncertainties because of new taxes

The registry of new cars in Argentina soared 13.5% last year establishing a record of 955.203 vehicles, compared to 2012, and also above the 860.000 units of 2011, which was the standing record, according to the Argentine association of automobile dealers, ACARA.
Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:25 UTC
Russian and Chinese vessels break loose from Antarctic ice

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed Wednesday that the entrapped Antarctic ships, the Akademik Shokalskiy and the Xue Long (Snow Dragon), have broken free from the ice in Antarctica and are no longer in need of assistance.