Politics

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 10:26 UTC

  HMS Protector back in Portsmouth after a successful nine-month Antarctica deployment

  

  HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship, has returned to Portsmouth at the end of a nine-month deployment to the ‘Frozen Continent’. Operating in the British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands throughout the Austral Summer, the ship conducted three intensive work periods in the ice, and a fourth work period in the waters surrounding South Georgia.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:50 UTC

  Argentina’s whitewashing bill could attract “around 5 billion dollars”

  

  The head of Argentina’s Lower House Budget and Finance Committee and former Finance minister Roberto Feletti said that the whitewashing bill should allow the entrance of “around 5 billion dollars” into Argentina’s market. For the MP, the government is “fighting a historic battle to block” what he called a “market coup.”

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:49 UTC

  Argentina’s ‘blue dollar’ yields on expectations but still above 10 Pesos

  

  The so called ‘blue dollar’ traded in Argentina’s parallel market ended on Friday just above 10 Pesos after having reached record highs earlier in the week (10.55 Pesos) and following the Thursday announcement of a tax amnesty bill and other ‘whitewashing’ financial instruments.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:47 UTC

  Argentine government insists a ‘blue dollar’ at 6.50 Pesos is the target

  

  Argentina’s Secretary of Domestic Commerce Guillermo Moreno wants to bring the foreign exchange black market ‘back in line’ using new dollar securities the government plans to issue locally as part of a major tax amnesty plan, according to Alfredo Piano, Chairman of Banco Piano SA.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:43 UTC

  Spain received Queen’s message on Gibraltar and Falklands with “surprise and considerable discomfort”

  

  Jose Ignacio Landaluce, the ruling Spanish Popular Party MP and Mayor of Algeciras, said that the Queen’s message of support for Gibraltar (and Falklands) was greeted with “surprise and considerable discomfort” in Spain. His was the only reaction from any Spanish official to a statement that was warmly welcomed in Gibraltar.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:32 UTC

  Tory MPs challenge Cameron: insist EU referendum be enshrined into law

  

  A group of Tory MPs will attempt to force a House of Commons vote over a referendum on the UK’s European Union membership in a fresh blow to David Cameron’s authority. They have criticised the failure to include legislation paving the way for PM Cameron’s promised public vote on the EU.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:27 UTC

  Germany’s anti-Euro movement could become a party this weekend

  

  Germany's newly launched anti-Euro party will clear a key hurdle this weekend to taking part in September's national election but has yet to rally enough support to win seats in parliament.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 05:24 UTC

  G7 divided on the austerity/expansion debate; US warns Japan on Yen policy

  

  The United States told Japan it would be watching for any sign it was manipulating its currency lower but Tokyo said it met no resistance to its policies at a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 03:29 UTC

  PM Cameron should stop groveling to Obama and stand up for Britain over the Falklands

  

  The following article by Neil Gardiner (*) was published by The Telegraph - The British prime minister jets into Washington this weekend, for a meeting with President Obama at the White House on Monday. As I noted in a piece earlier this week, this is an opportunity for David Cameron to look like a statesman, not a cheerleader. His last visit to Washington was an embarrassment, with the British leader fawning all over the most left-wing and anti-British president of modern times, even de facto endorsing Obama for a second term as president.

• Saturday, May 11th 2013 - 03:25 UTC

  “Malvinas Argentinas” and “One China” policies ratified by Beijing and Buenos Aires

  

  Visiting Chinese Vice-president Li Yuanchao expressed on Friday “full support for Argentina’s sovereign claims over the Malvinas Islands” while his Argentine peer, Amado Boudou matched his words ratifying the ‘one China’ policy.