International

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 02:47 UTC

  Argentine defaulted bond-holders have until 22 April to respond to the proposed payment plan

  

  A US appeals court gave holders of defaulted Argentina debt three weeks to respond to the country’s proposed plan to pay them much less than the 1.33 billion dollars they have sued to collect.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 02:06 UTC

  Expanding Antarctic sea-ice triggers different scientific explanations

  

  Climate change is expanding Antarctica's sea ice, according to a scientific study in the journal Nature Geoscience. The paradoxical phenomenon is thought to be caused by relatively cold plumes of fresh water derived from melting beneath the Antarctic ice shelves.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 01:49 UTC

  China reports further cases of A (H7N9) flu; scientists confirm mutation of the virus

  

  As China’s Health and Family Planning Commission notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of an additional four cases of human infection with influenza A(H7N9), scientists revealed that the genetic sequence data on the deadly strain of bird flu previously unknown in people show the virus has already acquired some mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 00:08 UTC

  Carnival’s Triumph breaks loose from its dock; US Senator calls for “Cruise Ship Passenger Bill of Rights”

  

  One person was missing Wednesday afternoon after high winds in Mobile, Alabama, caused the disabled cruise ship Carnival Triumph to break loose from its dock, officials said. An official with the city's fire department said the missing man and another person were in a guard shack that was blown into Mobile River. One man has been recovered from the water.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 07:08 UTC

  Falklands’ lawmaker regrets South American leaders take for granted Argentina’s version of events

  

  Falklands’ lawmaker Gavin Short regretted on Tuesday in Bolivia that the governments of South America take for granted the Argentine version of the conflict between Argentina and the UK over the Islands sovereignty without ever having listened to the other side.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 03:49 UTC

  Francis first real challenge: re-structuring the scandal ridden Vatican bank

  

  Pope Francis, who has said he wants the Catholic Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could restructure or even close the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank as part of a broad review of its troubled bureaucracy, Vatican sources say.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 03:03 UTC

  Falkland Islands’ referendum blasted by the Argentine embassy in Montevideo media

  

  In full half page white and blue ads the Argentine embassy in Montevideo expressed on Tuesday how grateful it is to Uruguay for its support in the Malvinas Islands claim and for having been one of the first countries to reject the ‘legitimacy and publicity stunt’ of the ‘pseudo-referendum’ recently held in the Falklands.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 01:20 UTC

  UN approves first-ever historic arms trade treaty with 23 abstentions and 3 negative votes

  

  The 193-nation UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first-ever treaty on global arms trade that seeks to regulate the 70 billion dollars international business in conventional arms ranging from light weapons to battle tanks and warships.
  There were 154 votes in favour, 3 against and 23 abstentions.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 00:59 UTC

  Falkland Island's: identification of NN remains at Darwin memorial back on stage

  

  President Cristina Fernandez announced on Tuesday that 91 next of kin of Argentine combatants buried in NN graves at the Falkland Islands Darwin memorial have agreed and signed to have the remains DNA tested and clearly identified.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 16:39 UTC

  Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the costliest in US history equivalent to 40% of GDP

  

  US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will cost taxpayers up to 6 trillion dollars or 75.000 dollars for every US household, “the most expensive wars in US history,” a new report has revealed, adding that these campaigns will dominate future federal budgets “for decades to come”.