Environment

Sunday, March 18th 2012 - 19:53 UTC
Top executives from Chevron barred from leaving Brazil because of oil spills case

A Brazilian court barred 17 executives from Chevron and Transocean from leaving Brazil, pending criminal charges related to a high-profile oil spill last November. A second oil spill detected last week further complicated the situation.
Sunday, March 18th 2012 - 19:50 UTC
HMS Illustrious, command ship in tough Arctic weather training

Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious is in the midst of NATO Exercise Cold Response, based in the Arctic. Illustrious is the command ship for Major General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, who, with his Commander Amphibious Forces staff, is directing the movements of allied warships.
Sunday, March 18th 2012 - 19:48 UTC
Unasur supports Argentine Malvinas and call on UK to resume negotiations

Foreign ministers from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) reaffirmed their support for Argentina over the Malvinas Islands sovereignty dispute at the annual meeting held in Asunción, Paraguay.
Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 06:10 UTC
US confirms ‘neutral position’ in Falklands’ dispute; hopes for cooperation on practical issues

United States stated that it maintains its “neutral position” over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands dispute between Argentina and UKand hopes for an agreed solution, an official source of the US government assured after the three day visit of British Prime Minister David Cameron which included several meetings at the White House
Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 06:01 UTC
EU ministers agree to free trade pact with Colombia and Peru

EU trade ministers agreed on Friday to approve a free trade pact with Colombia and Peru that could boost European car and chemical exports and lift food and mineral exports from the South American countries.
Thursday, March 15th 2012 - 00:40 UTC
US-Canada and EU agree to end ‘beef war’; Brussels grants 48.000 tons quota

European Parliament has backed a deal that will increase EU imports of beef from the US and Canada and help European food exporters. A row over growth hormones used on North American cattle ranches led to a trade war lasting more than 20 years.
Wednesday, March 14th 2012 - 23:52 UTC
Brazilian vessel looses half 5.000 cattle on board and has no port to dock

An animal welfare disaster resulting in the death of more than half the 5.000 cattle on board a Brazilian-owned live export ship bound for Egypt over the past fortnight has prompted renewed calls to ban the industry.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 12:26 UTC
New Oceanites Antarctic Compendium Available

Ron Naveen, President of Oceanites, announced that the new compendium, covering 142 different sites on the Antarctic Peninsula, can now be downloaded in PDF format at no cost.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012 - 07:09 UTC
Exceptional rainfall and flash floods leave Punta Arenas under water

Sunday rains and flash floods in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile have left an estimated 800 people homeless forcing the city to close schools while the local chapter of the National Emergency office, Onemi, raised the alarm level from orange (moderate) to red (maximum).
Monday, March 12th 2012 - 22:10 UTC
One year after Fukushima, time for a more mature debate on nuclear

Since Fukushima, important developments have taken place. Germany has decided to shut down its fission plants. Moreover, in a referendum, 95% of the Italian public opposed plans to restart a nuclear programme in the country.