Chile's former Finance minister Nicolas Eyzaguirre was named to head the International Monetary Fund Western Hemisphere Department that oversees Latin America, the United States and Canada.
Since its historic reunification almost two decades ago, Germany has been easily the European Union's most populous nation, with 20 million more inhabitants than its closest rival.
Britain's Standard Chartered Bank has been authorized to open a representation office in Chile, according to an official release from the country's banking regulator, Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras, SBIF
Britain is to formally present its case to the United Nations in New York for extending its territorial rights around Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. States have rights over their resources, including oil or gas reserves, up to 200 nautical miles from the shoreline.
Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has melted to its second lowest level since satellite observations began according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. The extent of sea ice in the Arctic is down to 2.03 million square miles and the lowest point since 1979 is 1.65 million square miles set last September.
Canadian Maple Leaf Foods faces millions of dollars in demands from a class action lawsuit following an outbreak of listerosis (meat poisoning) linked to the company's Toronto meat plant and which allegedly is responsible for the death of at least 15 people.
An aerial survey by United States government scientists in Alaska's Chukchi Sea has recently found at least nine polar bears swimming in open water, with one at least 60 miles from shore, raising concern among wildlife experts about their survival, reports Science Daily.
A major initiative that involves mapping out the geological resources in Canada's Arctic was announced with great media display this week in Ottawa. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said state-of-the-art geological science and technology will be used to map the energy and mineral potential of the North.
Australia has backed Chinese aluminum giant Chinalco's recent purchase of an 11% stake in Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto.
Have you ever noticed that herds of grazing animals all face the same way? Images from Google Earth have confirmed that cattle tend to align their bodies in a north-south direction.