International

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 20:12 UTC

  Mercosur members, except Paraguay, de-listed from EU import preference scheme

  

  The European Union issued on Wednesday its revised import preference scheme - known as the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) - for developing countries most in need which will take effect from 1 January 2014, revealing that all Mercosur full members, except for Paraguay, will no longer benefit.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 18:12 UTC

  Council of Europe promotes personal data protection in Latin America

  

  The Council of Europe is promoting international co-operation in the field of personal data protection, in particular by encouraging non member states to ratify the Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, also known as Convention 108. Uruguay has started the process for its ratification and therefore may become the first non-Council of Europe member state to accede to the convention.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 04:51 UTC

  Argentine-Iran dialogue is ‘over’, says Jewish community rejecting Teheran’s denial of any involvement

  

  The president of the Argentine Jewish Community centre, AMIA, Guillermo Borger said that if Iran insists in rejecting any links with the 1994 attack in which 85 people were killed and 300 injured, the current dialogue between Argentina and Teheran on the issue “is over”.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 04:00 UTC

  Fitch Ratings downgrades Argentine bonds following Judge Griesa ruling

  

  Fitch Ratings has placed Argentina's Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B', Short-term IDR of 'B' and the international bonds issued under New York Law on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 03:54 UTC

  Iran insists in denying any involvement in deadly attack on Jewish centre in Buenos Aires

  

  Iran’s government rejected once more the involvement of any Iranian citizen in the 1994 AMIA Jewish Centre terrorist bombing, but indicated to be ready to help into identifying those who could have committed the attack.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 02:38 UTC

  Iran expected to import 100.000 tons of Argentine soy-oil in 4Q

  

  Iran is likely to import over 100.000 tons of soy-oil from Argentina in October-December 2012 as Iran's purchasing of soy beans, soy-oil and soy-meal is recovering from the impact of sanctions, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 01:43 UTC

  IATTO introduces ‘climate change’ presentation for ‘Antarctic Ambassadors’

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO, announced on Tuesday the availability of a new PowerPoint presentation designed to help the traveller understand how climate change is affecting the Antarctic environment.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2012 - 14:15 UTC

  HMS Dauntless in Portsmouth after South Atlantic deployment; HMS Edinburgh on her way

  

  After a six-month deployment to the South Atlantic, including a patrol and exercises in the Falkland Islands, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dauntless has returned to her home port in Portsmouth, southern England.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2012 - 07:30 UTC

  ARA Libertad retained in Ghana has cost Argentina almost 3m dollars

  

  The Argentine navy flagship ARA Libertad impounded in Ghana by US investment funds since 2 October has cost so far over 2.6 million dollars, half of which for the repatriation of the 281 cadets and crewmembers, according to Argentine naval and diplomatic sources quoted in the Buenos Aires media.

• Tuesday, October 30th 2012 - 07:25 UTC

  ‘Atlas of Health and Climate’ to understand the challenges of extreme conditions

  

  As the world’s climate continues to change, hazards to human health are increasing. The Atlas of Health and Climate, published jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), illustrates some of the most pressing current and emerging challenges.