
The Falkland Islands Financial Secretary Nicola Granger presented on Tuesday to the Legislative Assembly the 2016/17 financial budget bill with appropriations of £62.9M, funded from revenues anticipated in the year of £61.3M with the remainder coming from the reserves built up from wind-falls in Illex catches and oil and gas exploration in recent years.

The Falkland Islands finances remain robust despite a future of domestic and overseas challenges, but on the other hand recent developments in Argentina have opened hopes for a productive, closer relationship with the South American continent, said Governor Colin Roberts in his annual speech on the state of the nation.

Apple and Samsung supplier Foxconn has reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots. One factory has reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the introduction of robots, a government official told the South China Morning Star.

Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation in Patagonia remains an attractive asset for international investors, many of which are looking to increase the amount they have invested so far, according to the country's Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren, a former Shell Argentina CEO.

2016 St Helena’s Day celebrations were this year held on Friday 20 May 2016, and were reckoned by all to be a great success. Once again organized by New Horizons and held in lower Jamestown, traditional activities and stalls were arranged in both the Mule Yard and along the Seafront area.

United States tire maker Bridgestone is selling its business in Venezuela after six decades in the country, the latest blue chip company to abandon the country as a result of runaway inflation and strict currency controls. Bridgestone Americas said in a statement Monday that it is selling its Venezuela assets to Grupo Corimon, a local industrialist. It says the company will be called Alice Neumaticos de Venezuela.

Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra held another round of talks with high level Chinese officers in Beijing, as part of her official visit to China to promote trade, investment and the special strategic relation between the two countries. But also cut short her visit to other countries to be back in Buenos Aires next Monday in time to meet with her new Brazilian peer, Jose Serra to address the bilateral agenda and Mercosur among other issues.

Argentina on Thursday sought to reassure China that bilateral cooperation remained a priority for its new government amid growing concerns over political changes in the South American country. After a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said investment projects with China would go ahead.

Falkland Islands oil and gas producer Rockhopper Exploration Plc has announced that its net contingent oil reserves have doubled to more than 300 million barrels, and independent experts are now eyeing this as nearly billion-barrel basin.

Falkland Islands remains hopeful of improved relations with the new administration of Argentina and cooperation in the many areas of mutual interest such as fisheries and connectivity, but sovereignty of the Falklands is not for negotiation, reads the Gilbert House report to the 46th British Isles and Mediterranean Region Conference, which opened on Sunday in Jersey.