Mercosur

• Tuesday, February 12th 2013 - 21:05 UTC

  Argentina says three-side dialogue on Falklands/Malvinas issue is unthinkable

  

  Argentine ambassador in the UK, Alicia Castro described the coming Falkland Islands referendum on March 10/11 as a ‘media ruse’ and insisted that a three-side dialogue on Malvinas sovereignty is ‘unthinkable’ because the issue is bilateral: UK/Argentina.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2013 - 18:00 UTC

  Punta Arenas cruise business picking up; 62.000 visitors expected this season

  

  The cruise business has been picking up for the last three seasons and so far including January an estimated 31.000 visitors landed in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, which represents a 7% increase over the previous season and 10% for international cruises, said the head of the Austral Port Authority, Ignacio Covacevich.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 22:08 UTC

  FAO January food price index shows oil and fats up, cereals down, dairy and beef unchanged

  

  FAO Food Price Index held steady at 210 points in January 2013 after three straight months of decline. Increases in oil and fats prices offset lower cereals and sugar quotations while dairy and meat values remained substantially unchanged. The pause in the Index's decline tallies with a significant upward revision in FAO latest forecast for 2012 world cereal production. This is now estimated at 2.302 million tonnes - 20 million tonnes up on December's forecast.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 21:21 UTC

  OAS celebrates 50 years of ‘electoral observance’ which makes to democracy foundations

  

  Electoral observance “serves to build the foundations of Latin American democracy” said Organization of American States, OAS, Secretary General Jose Miguel Inuslza during opening remarks at a Roundtable entitled “International Election Observation: Progress and Challenges,” held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 21:14 UTC

  Gibraltar delegate to address ‘self-determination and sovereignty claims” at Falklands’ conference

  

  The 43rd British Islands and Mediterranean Region Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association hosted by the Falkland Islands for the second time begins on Tuesday. Over forty delegates have travelled to the Islands for the Conference and Falklands Radio will be broadcasting some of the sessions.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 04:52 UTC

  Argentina/Iran accord increases crossfire between government and Jewish community

  

  A new crossfire has emerged between the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and the Jewish community over the agreement reached by the Argentine government with Iran to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish institution in Buenos Aires which left 85 dead and hundreds injured, and remains unresolved.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 04:47 UTC

  “Pseudo referendum” is provocative and offensive says Malvinas Forum, Uruguay

  

  The Malvinas Forum, Uruguay chapter released a declaration strongly criticizing lawmakers and institutions that have announced they are planning to travel to the Falklands’ for the March10/11 referendum.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 04:18 UTC

  UK expects Uruguay to respect the Falklands’ referendum, which is a three sided event

  

  British ambassador in Uruguay Ben Lyster-Binns said the coming referendum in the Falkland Islands involves the people of the Islands, United Kingdom and Argentina and expects the Uruguayan government to respect the referendum even when Foreign Minister Luis Almagro anticipated that the country will not recognize the results of the ballot.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 02:45 UTC

  Uruguay has interests in Falklands, beyond the UK/Argentina territorial dispute

  

  Uruguayan opposition lawmakers, as from the rest of the continent will be travelling to the Falklands as observers of the referendum scheduled for next March 10/11 “to see the legitimacy of the process and results” but also because Uruguay has interests that go beyond the territorial dispute between Argentina and the UK.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 01:00 UTC

  Hague accuses Argentina of “bullying and intimidatory behavior” towards the Falklands

  

  Foreign Secretary William Hague has accused Argentina of “bullying and intimidatory behaviour” towards the Falkland Islands. Mr Hague in a Sunday interview with The Sun promised never to negotiate over the islands' sovereignty unless their people called for it - a referendum will take place next month.