
By Gwynne Dyer - International human rights campaigner and occasional actor Sean Penn, whose well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize continues to be delayed for mysterious reasons, was the first famous foreigner to lend his support to the cause. “The world today is not going to tolerate any ludicrous and archaic commitment to colonialist ideology,” he told Cristina Kirchner, the president of Argentina. He was speaking, of course, of the Falkland Islands.

Amidst the cross-fire between the Argentine government and Repsol-YPF oil giant, Spain’s Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister José Manuel Soria, warned on Thursday that “any sign of hostility” against Spanish companies “will be considered as a hostile sign against Spain and its government, and will bring consequences.”

A mother whose newborn baby was found alive in an Argentine morgue 12 hours after being declared dead on Wednesday blamed hospital negligence for the near-fatal mistake.

The Argentine maritime workers union, SOMU, decided not to work overtime, a measure which affects most ports from inland Rosario on the Paraná River to Bahía Blanca on the South Atlantic, when thousands of trucks are lined up with the summer harvest.

Argentina’s sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas will be addressed during the Sixth Summit of the Americas this weekend in Colombia, where 33 heads of state and government are scheduled to meet, said Colombian Foreign Affairs minister Maria Angela Holguin.

Argentines give more importance than the British to the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty issue, according to the first public opinion on the matter done simultaneously in both countries involved.

Shares in Argentina's biggest energy company YPF plunged 5.6% in Buenos Aires on Wednesday while the company's US-listed shares were 5% lower in New York.

The US and forty countries which formalized a joint statement before the World Trade Organization complaining about Argentina’s trade restrictions are considering moving a step further and begin a “disputes settlement” process which could lead to an open condemnation if the administration of President Cristina Kirchner does not lift the protectionist network.

The International Monetary Fund will make a compulsory review of Argentina’s economy because of the country’s refusal to allow the multilateral organization to examine its finances since 2006, the Buenos Aires media reported on Wednesday quoting IMF sources.

Argentina’s Prosecutor-general Esteban Righi officially resigned to his post on Tuesday, following Vice-President Amado Boudou’s decision to press charges against the prosecutor leading the investigation into the politician's role in the Ciccone currency printing company investigation.