
The International Monetary Fund is seeking to boost its war chest by 600 billion dollars to help countries reeling from the Euro zone debt crisis, but some nations insist Europe must first do more to support its ailing members, international financial sources said on Wednesday.

Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman echoed the statements made by UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron in which he accused Argentina of colonialism, and counter attacked by saying that “it catches one’s attention to hear such statements when Great Britain and Colonialism are synonymous.”

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague praised Brazil's growing economic and political power as he opened two days of talks with the country's leaders, and also assured that British policy on the Falkland Islands will not change despite pressure from Argentina.

Members of the British Services Antarctic Expedition 2012 on Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of the day Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated team reached the South Pole, as their own journey begins.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has accused Argentina of colonialism over the country's claim to the Falkland Islands. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Cameron vowed to protect the Islands' population and allow them to decide their own future.

Foreign Secretary William Hague begins Wednesday a two-day visit to Brazil which according to Brazilian sources will mark the beginning of a strategic dialogue between the two countries.

The sovereignty of Syria and Iran should be defended against 'foreign interferences' and from the siege of ‘colonial powers’ Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed during a telephone conversation, according to the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs ministry.

Like in Colombian Nobel Prize Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” Fitch rating agency said on Tuesday that Greece would default on its debt, although it anticipated that such a default was likely to take place in an orderly manner.

Credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from “AAA” to “AA+,” although it does not rule out it would increase it again if it bolsters its funds, according to a communiqué released on Monday.

Rising human carbon dioxide emissions may be affecting the brains and central nervous systems of sea fish, with serious consequences for their survival, according to Australian research.