Stories for December 8th 2014

Monday, December 8th 2014 - 23:46 UTC
Reconciliation and commemoration: 100 years after the Battle of the Falklands German flags fly over Stanley

“With substantial losses at both the Battle of Coronel and the Battle of the Falklands, the annual remembrance events are an opportunity to reflect on the lives lost from both the British and German navies. It was decided early on that this commemorative approach, highlighting the tragic loss of life during both battles, should be echoed throughout events on this Centenary year”
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 23:25 UTC
Commemoration Service for Battles of Coronel and the Falklands at London's St Martin-in-the-Fields

The first two significant naval battles of the First World War were commemorated in London and the Falklands in parallel church services on the 8th December – a hundred years after these momentous events took place.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 11:12 UTC
Dilma Rousseff after quick transition in Finance given the fiscal deterioration

Brazil's new economic team headed by Joaquim Levy is expected to take office sometime in the next few days after the ruling coalition of President Dilma Rousseff finally managed Congress to approve a loosening of this year's budget targets including the crucial primary budget.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 11:09 UTC
Ten months of 2014 the hottest on record; land surface temperature up 2 Celsius degrees

Despite the record early snowfall in parts of the United States in recent weeks, 2014 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record and according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, the first ten months of this year have been the hottest since record keeping began more than 130 years ago.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 07:18 UTC
Argentina claims BBC Top Gear had three different plates and planned to set the cars on fire

The BBC Top Gear team which last October toured Argentina with three vehicles and which triggered a strong controversy apparently had three different plates in just one car and tried to torch the vehicles to cause further 'scandal', according to reports from the Patagonian police which were attached to a second letter sent by Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro to the BBC Executive Board.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 07:12 UTC
Road ahead for Latin America 'increasingly bumpy' says IMF Lagarde

Latin America faces a rocky road ahead despite social and economic achievements in recent years, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde. Among the achievements in the last two decades and in most nations, Ms Lagarde mentioned low inflation, fiscal discipline, and financial stability.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 07:04 UTC
Lagarde wishes to continue improving relations with Argentina

The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said she wishes to “continue improving” the relationship between the IMF and Argentina, while at the same time focusing on the necessities of the region's third largest economy which is not growing as fast as it should.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 06:55 UTC
Mujica says Guantanamo inmates in Uruguay can leave whenever they wish

The detainees from Guantanamo Base in Cuba that arrived in Uruguay on Sunday as part of an agreement with the US, “can leave the country whenever they wish”, since they come as 'refugees', announced President Jose Mujica.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 06:42 UTC
US confirms Uruguay has received the six Guantanamo detainees

The United States Department of Defense announced on Sunday the transfer to Uruguay of six detainees from the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba, a long announced event which was postponed several times allegedly because of bureaucratic delays in the US and controversy in Uruguay.
Monday, December 8th 2014 - 05:16 UTC
Their Grave is the Sea - 1914 Naval Battles: Coronel and Falklands

By Harold Briley (*) Early in World War One the Royal Navy suffered one of its most disastrous defeats followed five weeks later by one of its most decisive victories. In the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December, 1914, all five battle cruisers of the German East Asian Squadron and its support ships were defeated with nearly 2,000 men killed including their commander, Vice Admiral Graf von Spee. No British ships were lost and only eight British sailors were killed.