Stories for February 18th 2016

Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 07:16 UTC
Russian Patriarch holds mass at the Bellingshausen Antarctic base

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Wednesday served mass at Russia’s Bellingshausen Antarctic station on Waterloo Island and raised a prayer for the entire world. It was the last leg of the Patriarch's Latin American tour that included a meeting with Pope Francis in Cuba, ending a Christianity schism of almost a thousand years.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 07:08 UTC
Obama expected to make a historic visit to Cuba sometime in March

United States President Barack Obama will make a historic visit to Cuba within the next month, the culmination of his efforts to end a half-century of tensions between Havana and Washington, ABC and CNN reported late Wednesday.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:57 UTC
S&P sends Brazil's credit rating deeper into junk territory; officials 'surprised'

Standard & Poor's downgraded Brazil's credit rating deeper into junk territory on Wednesday, citing its failure to curb its fiscal deficit, in a surprise blow to President Dilma Rousseff`s bid to haul the economy out of its worst recession in decades.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:51 UTC
US congressional delegation visits Gibraltar in support of self determination

A visiting delegation from the Congress of the United States has praised Gibraltar's economy and spoken of why they co-sponsored a bill supporting Gibraltar’s right to self-determination in the House of Representatives.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:32 UTC
Punta Arenas expects to become homeport for an Antarctica cruise line

Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile is encouraged by the cruise industry prospects for its port and facilities: this season Norwegian Sun has returned with at least ten calls and for 2016/2017 a line will be cruising to Antarctica with Punta Arenas as a home port.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:19 UTC
Falklands' oil industry continues to advance, despite current low prices

Despite current low oil prices, the oil and gas industry in the Falkland Islands is continuing to go from strength to strength as its first project, Premier Oil’s Sea Lion, moves closer to commercialization, according to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:07 UTC
Norway's Statoil joins Tullow Oil and expands share in Uruguay's Pelotas basin

Norway’s Statoil said that it has signed an agreement with Tullow Oil to secure a 35% working interest in a Uruguay’s Pelotas basin exploration block 15, about 200 kilometers off the coast of Uruguay.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 01:16 UTC
Cruise crew member jumps overboard in the south of Chile

A Philippine crew member from the Norwegian Sun cruise vessel jumped overboard before reaching a port in South Chile and has been declared 'disappeared' by the Chilean navy which organized a rescue operation.
Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 01:03 UTC
Malvinas, a dream that can be rescued

Under this heading Dante Caputo, a former Argentine foreign minister (1983/89) with an impeccable domestic and international academic background addresses the 'Malvinas question' and proposes Argentina sets a 2033 target for a new attempt on the Islands, this time trying to convince the Falkland Islanders, and that in seventeen years time, the country is reliable and sovereignty discussions should then take place.