
The Dutch government released a former Venezuelan general who was detained on US drug charges when he arrived in Aruba to serve as his country's consul on the Dutch Caribbean island, sending him home Sunday night and defusing a diplomatic fight with its neighbor.

The IMF's chief economist warned that a default by Argentina in its battle with holders of its defaulted debt may hurt its economy and the global financial system. Argentina continues to face the fallout of its 2001 debt default, which plunged the country into an economic crisis it is still battling to overcome.

Uruguay's president Jose Mujica proposal to shelter Syrian children refugees from the ongoing Middle East conflict has the support of 66% of the population and is rejected by 23%, according to a public opinion poll released this week by a local television channel.

The Gibraltar government welcomed the call by three senior Spanish politicians for Spain, the UK and Gibraltar to engage in dialogue. The call was made public in a joint statement issued by former senior Spanish politicians Pepe Carracao, Rafael Roman and Salvador de la Encina.

Amid mounting criticism of Russia over the MH17 plane tragedy and conflict with Ukraine, FIFA rejects calls for the country to be stripped of 2018 World Cup hosting rights and says a boycott is no solution to the crisis.

FIFA has fined the Argentine Football Association 30,000 Swiss francs (£19,540) as punishment for the displaying of a provocative banner relating to the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islands Tourist Board (FITB) has been busy over the past weeks planning for upcoming events in the UK. The first event is in just three weeks when FITB will again be attending Bird Fair at Rutland Wildlife Reserve in Oakham, UK.

Global Summits Organizer IRN and Grupo BG de Eventos will be launching the inaugural Uruguay Oil & Gas 2014 Summit which will take place on 17th-18th November in the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo. This Summit follows the announcement of the third oil bidding round, the Ronda Uruguay III.

An 'honesty' ranking by Argentine pollster, Giacobbe & Associates, based on 500 names, both alive and deceased, shows the country's public opinion poor belief in the political system, with president Cristina Fernández ranked 38, fourteen positions down from a similar poll last year and behind her Uruguayan peer Jose Mujica ranked 11.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ended on Wednesday an eight-day trip through Latin America with a visit to eastern Cuba, where both the island's independence struggle against Spain and Fidel Castro's revolution began.