By Klaus Dodds (*) - The last couple of weeks have been busy ones when it comes to news about the Falkland Islands. Or Islas Malvinas as Argentine and other readers might insist upon. For others, the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) is the preferred naming option — highlighting as it does their continued contested status.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has reaffirmed its triple-A rating for the UK, but warned of the continuing negative outlook for the economy. S&P said it may downgrade the UK from the highest rating in the future if economic conditions worsened.
Pope Francis has called for decisive action in the fight against sex abuse of minors by priests. He told Bishop Gerhard Mueller, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith - the Vatican watchdog that deals with sex abuse cases - to ensure that perpetrators were punished.
Brazilian Foreign minister Antonio Patriota said he was hopeful that the European Union and Mercosur could advance this year towards a trade agreement they have been negotiating so far unsuccessfully for almost fifteen years and also warned about the coming EU/US trade talks for a comprehensive accord.
Studies by the United States Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Mark Ibekwe suggest that in some parts of California, pathogens in local waterways are more often carried there via runoff from urban areas, not from animal production facilities
At least one in three adults in the Americas has high blood pressure, or hypertension, the number-one risk factor cardiovascular disease and death throughout the world. Hypertension is believed to affect nearly 1 billion people worldwide.
Creating an EU banking union with a centralized supervisory and restructuring board plus telling the European Central Bank to provide unlimited liquidity to maintain the payments system are crucial if the Euro is to survive, according to a leading German economist from the European Bruegel think-tank analyzing the ongoing banking and confidence crisis triggered by Cyprus.
Most visits to Argentina are trouble-free, but you should keep a close eye on your personal belongings in public places and there have been occasional Falklands-related protests against British interests in Argentina.
The European Central Bank cannot step into the breach left by a lack of political action to solve the region's debt crisis, but is ready to do whatever it can to help, ECB chief Mario Draghi said on Thursday.
The Bank of England has decided not to expand its stimulus program of quantitative easing and has also kept interest rates unchanged at 0.5%. The decision had been widely expected, despite concerns over the strength of the UK economy. The rate has been at that level since March 2009.