
By Vicente Palermo (*)
The international resolutions which Argentina appeals to support its claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands are not definitive on the sovereignty issue, and do not ignore the rights of the Falkland Islanders, argues an Argentine scientific researcher and member of the Argentine Political Club who published an opinion article in Buenos Aires daily Clarin.

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) announced on Wednesday a restructuring of its Secretariat, re-establishing the post of Executive Director, with Dr. Kim Crosbie named to the position.

The United States and the European Union agreed on Wednesday to push for the launch by the end of June of talks to create an Atlantic free trade alliance that could be a benchmark for global partners to follow. A free trade deal would be the most ambitious ever attempted, encompassing half the world's economic output and a third of global trade flows.

President Barack Obama pledged in his annual State of the Union speech to revive the sluggish US economy by creating good, middle-class jobs. The Democratic president promised smarter rather than bigger government for the many, and not just the few and called on Congress 'to take a vote' on a package of progressive reforms..

Argentine Jewish leaders from Community Centres AMIA and DAIA, Guillermo Borger and Julio Schlosser rejected on Tuesday once more the agreement signed by the Argentine and Iranian governments last week to investigate the 1994 AMIA centre bombing which killed 85 people and left hundreds injured.

The 43rd British Islands and Mediterranean Region Annual Conference (BIMR) of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, hosted by the Falkland Islands Government, opened in Stanley Tuesday morning. The theme of the two-day conference is “Self-determination and its role in self governance and devolution”.

Looks like Olympic Gold medalist Usain Bolt may finally have some competition. Japanese researchers published a study in German magazine ‘Marine Biology’ about the ocean squid that can fly more than 30 meters through the air at a speed of 11.2 meters per second.

The European horse-meat scare has reached the Falkland Islands but the government has stated that local retailers have voluntarily removed potentially affected products from their shelves and “there is nothing to suggest a safety risk to consumers who may have eaten affected products”.

Carnival cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico with more than 4,200 passengers and crew will be towed to port after a weekend engine fire left it dead in the water, a cruise line official announced. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Vigorous arrived early Monday to aid the stranded ship. The first of two tugboats is expected on the scene by midday, said Greg Magee, commander of the Vigorous.

FAO Food Price Index held steady at 210 points in January 2013 after three straight months of decline. Increases in oil and fats prices offset lower cereals and sugar quotations while dairy and meat values remained substantially unchanged. The pause in the Index's decline tallies with a significant upward revision in FAO latest forecast for 2012 world cereal production. This is now estimated at 2.302 million tonnes - 20 million tonnes up on December's forecast.