Falkland Islands

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 12:32 UTC

  Chile ratifies its position and denies existence of a Malvinas blockade

  

  Chile ratified this week that vessels flying the Malvinas flag will continue to be barred from Chilean ports and that the country’s position relative to the issue has not changed and denies the existence of a blockade. A brief statement from the Chilean Foreign Affairs ministry indirectly refers to the latest statement by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 12:31 UTC

  Uruguay’s position on barring Malvinas flagged vessels “has not changed an iota”

  

  In an official communiqué Uruguay ratified full support for Argentina’s Malvinas sovereignty claim and underlined that the barring of Malvinas’ flagged vessel from Uruguayan ports stands and “has not changed an iota”.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:19 UTC

  “We must be politically persistent” on our Malvinas claim, says CFK spokesperson

  

  As the UK applies pressure on Mercosur countries so they allow the entry to vessels flying the Malvinas flag, Argentine ruling Victory Front lawmaker Carlos Kunkel said on Wednesday that Argentina “must be politically persistent while maintaining a constant defence” on its claims over the sovereignty of the islands.

• Wednesday, January 11th 2012 - 06:34 UTC

  Falklands' conflict Harrier fleet sold to the US Marines for spares

  

  The fleet of vertical take-off Harrier aircraft, a crucial weapon in the 1982 Falkland Islands conflict has been sold to support the US Marine Corps in a deal worth £110m, reports the British press.

• Wednesday, January 11th 2012 - 06:22 UTC

  Argentina says no change in Mercosur decision to bar Falklands’ flagged vessels

  

  Argentina in two brief statements said on Tuesday that there has been no change in Mercosur members’ position to bar Falklands’ flagged vessels from the region’s ports and that the United Kingdom admits that such policy has become effective.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 21:57 UTC

  Malvinas recovery for Argentina must become a “Chilean cause”, says former minister

  

  Chilean former Foreign Affairs minister and ambassador before the UN, Juan Gabriel Valdes has called for Chileans to adopt the Argentine sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands --disputed with the UK--, as a “Chilean cause”.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 21:09 UTC

  Falklands’ “black gold rush” means a decade of big money, with or without oil

  

  Thirty years after the Falkland Islands conflict, the South Atlantic Islands are the focus of a “black gold rush” as a string of exploration companies seek to be the first to find commercially viable reserves in the region, writes the London Express City & Business.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 15:42 UTC

  UK tells Mercosur it will resist any attempts to coerce the Falklands

  

  The British government said it would resist any attempts to coerce the Falkland Islands through economic or other pressures, and revealed it is holding ‘productive discussions’ with Uruguay, Chile and Brazil to ensure trade and commercial links between the Islands and South America are not compromised by political declarations.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 06:02 UTC

  Rockhopper ends Faklands’ 2010/11 exploration round with three oil discoveries

  

  Rockhopper Exploration announced Monday that it has completed its successful round of drillings in Falkland Islands waters with the Ocean Guardian rig.

• Monday, January 9th 2012 - 06:57 UTC

  PM Cameron discards any Falklands’ sovereignty negotiations with Argentina

  

  British Prime Minister David Cameron discarded any Falkland Islands sovereignty negotiations with Argentina and said that his government is permanently vigilant about the protection of the Islands and their defence.