Antarctica

• Wednesday, October 24th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Three expeditions to assert Chile's Antarctic commitment

  

  Three Chilean expeditions with strong political emphasis are ready to land in Antarctica before the end of the year with the purpose of asserting Chilean sovereignty following on the Foreign Office's off-Antarctica territory claim.

• Monday, October 22nd 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Antarctica sea bed: Chile will assert rights in UN

  

  Chile confirmed Monday it will make an official presentation before the United Nations Continental Shelf Limits Commission to confirm Chile's rights off Antarctic territory following on the announcement by the Foreign Office of Britain's intentions.

• Friday, October 19th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile responds to UK Antarctic seabed claim presentation

  

  Chile's Foreign Ministry responded cautiously Thursday evening to reported plans by the British government to claim vast areas of sea territory around Antarctica. The UK apparently will base its claim on the UN's Law of the Sea Convention in a submission to the organization's commission on the limits of the continental shelf.

• Friday, October 19th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile's reply to UK Antarctic seabed claims was “weak”

  

  A leading Chilean member of Congress from the ruling coalition, who also sits in the Defence and Foreign Affairs committees, said that the Chilean government's reply to Britain's claims over the Antarctic seabed had been “weak”.

• Thursday, October 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Taiana confirms Argentina's claim over Antarctic seabed

  

  Argentina is collecting information and preparing presentations for seabed claims in the South Atlantic and Antarctica confirmed this week Foreign Affairs minister Jorge Taiana.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  UK preparing sea bed claims off British Antarctica

  

  The United Kingdom has increased the list of claims of seabed rights to include a large chunk off Antarctica, an area of over a million square kilometers, according to reports in the British press quoting a spokes-woman from the Foreign Office.

• Saturday, October 6th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean icebreaker stationed in Punta Arenas

  

  Chile's Navy icebreaker “Almirante Viel” which is scheduled to be arriving at the end of the month, will be permanently stationed in Punta Arenas, reported this week Chilean naval authorities.

• Tuesday, September 18th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Antarctic venture giving krill investors cold feet

  

  The leading Norwegian krill harvesting company Aker BioMarine is losing ground in the Oslo Stock Exchange. It looks like the investors who put their monies in the company when it was listed in June, are now getting cold feet.

• Wednesday, September 5th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine icebreaker “Almirante Irizar” replacement delayed

  

  The charter of a Russian icebreaker to replace Argentina's navy “Almirante Irizar” severely damaged by fire, for the coming Antarctic season remains undecided according to Foreign Affairs ministry sources quoted in the Buenos Aires press.

• Tuesday, August 28th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Antarctic ozone hole opens early this year but may not be as large

  

  The hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has emerged earlier than usual this year, but it is not yet clear whether the eventual annual depletion of the naturally occurring gas that filters out cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) radiation will be as bad as recent years, the United Nations meteorological agency announced Tuesday.