
With rising economic strains on one side and ever more environmental concerns on the other, the world could soon find itself in the perfect global storm, the World Economic Forum warned in a report on Tuesday.

US agricultural giant Monsanto Tuesday posted a large increase in quarterly earnings on strong results in corn seed sales in the US and Latin America and better sales of pesticides. The St Louis-based corporation said net income for the first quarter was 339 million dollars, up from 126 million a year earlier.

The frigate ARA Libertad is already in Argentine waters and is scheduled to arrive Wednesday to the port of Mar del Plata, escorted by dozens of yachts and other vessels, to a huge reception ceremony headed by President Cristina Fernandez, ministers and top officials.

The head of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) called on countries that are banning Brazilian beef imports, following a case of mad cow disease last month, to lift restrictions as soon as possible, saying they were not justified.

Spain is to toughen its stance over Gibraltar in the long-running dispute over sovereignty following a year that has seen an increase in diplomatic tensions, according to reports in the UK daily The Telegraph.

The Argentine government issued a statement in response to a recent piece published on the British tabloid “The Sun”, and assured that President Cristina Fernández will fly in a private plane on her next tour to avoid a potential impounding of the official presidential plane by vulture funds.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry rejected the recent “military threats” coming from British Prime Minister David Cameron in relation to the UK’s “illegal occupation of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands” that began 180 years ago.

Argentina’s worldwide court battles against the hedge funds which did not accept the restructuring of its defaulted debt and are after the country’s assets, has gained another ally, the president of the World Economic Forum, (WEF) Klaus Schwab.

Iceland has awarded two licences for oil and gas exploration and production in the waters off the north east coast of the Atlantic island.

Only four years ago 100.000 South Koreans lined the streets of Seoul to protest the return of US beef to Korea. Consumer confidence in US beef was at an all-time low to the extent that media outlets would not even accept paid ads promoting the products for fear of getting pulled into the protest backlash – instead joining the outrage by declaring US beef to be unsafe from BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) or ‘mad cow’.