Falkland Islands

• Sunday, October 5th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  “Encouraging” news for Falklands oil prospects

  THE state of the oil industry is picking up, and that's good news for the Falkland Islands. That's the message Director of Mineral Resources Phyl Rendell brought back to Stanley from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, AAPG conference in Barcelona, Spain that extended from September 21 to 24.

• Sunday, October 5th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Falklands in travel brochures of world's main tourist operators

  At least twenty one tourism buyer companies from Europe, America and Oceania present at the latest convention of Travel Mart Latin America held in Ecuador, have listed the Falkland Islands in their operating profiles.

• Friday, October 3rd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguayan ship accused of poaching brought back to Australia.

  The Uruguayan boat captured for alleged poaching after a marathon 21-day ocean chase was brought into a west Australian port Friday (3 October) with its crew of 39 and an illegal catch of endangered Patagonian toothfish.

• Thursday, October 2nd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  COLTO Offers assistance and information to Uruguayan Government inquiry on toothfish pirate pursuit

  The international industry group representing the world's legal toothfish operators COLTO (Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators) has written to the Director of Uruguayan Fisheries ( DINARA) to raise its concern about statements he has been reported making about COLTO to a parliamentary inquiry investigating the Viarsa 1 incident.

• Wednesday, October 1st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Punta Arenas 8,6%.

  Magallanes Region recorded 8,4% unemployment in the June-August quarter, a 0,1% drop over the same period a year ago, according to the latest release from the Chilean Statistics Institute, INE. However in Punta Arenas unemployment reached 8,6%, which is higher than in other counties of the Region.

• Wednesday, October 1st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Australia buys back stranded sheep in vessel.

  The Australian government has agreed to buy back 50,000 sheep stranded aboard a ship in the Persian Gulf. The sheep were originally destined for Saudi Arabia but authorities refused to allow the ship to dock more than a month ago alleging an outbreak of disease among some of the animals on board.

• Tuesday, September 30th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  “Esmeralda” in Punta Arenas.

  Chilean Navy training vessel “Esmeralda” on its 48th instruction cruise arrived Monday morning in Punta Arenas. On Sunday tall ship “Esmeralda” taking advantage of the mild winds, 10 to 15 knots, had crossed Cape Horn with its almost 3,000 square metres of sails fully displayed.

• Tuesday, September 30th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Magallanes targets 360,000 tourists.

  Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile received 240,000 tourists during the 2001/2002 season and is planning to increase that figure to 360,000 by 2005.

• Friday, September 26th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner calls on UK for resumption of sovereignty talks.

  Addressing the United Nations Assembly, President Nestor Kirchner emphasized Argentina's fervent commitment to peace and called on Britain to resume sovereignty talks over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich and the adjoining maritime spaces.

• Friday, September 26th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  New airline to Punta Arenas.

  Sky Service S.A. owner of Sky Airline will begin flying to Punta Arenas from Santiago four times a week next November in coincidence with the summer season. The new carrier plans to fly with Boeing 737-200 that has a 124 passenger capacity.