Argentina's supreme court has ordered state-controlled YPF to publicly release all clauses of a 2013 contract with Chevron to develop shale oil in the country's vast Vaca Muerta formation. In a 3-1 ruling, the justices sided with opposition Socialist Senator Hector Ruben Giustiniani, ruling that the state's 51% stake in the firm effectively makes it a public company subject to transparency laws.
Helmut Schmidt, who served as West German Chancellor from 1974 to 1982, has died aged 96, his office says. Mr. Schmidt, who was a Social Democrat, was an architect of the European Monetary System, which linked EU currencies and helped pave the way to the euro. He also helped to consolidate Germany's post-war economic boom.
A new study by naming expert Laura Wattenberg has found that Sophia, and its variants including Sofia, is the most popular baby name in the world. Wattenberg collected name statistics from 49 countries, and Sophia, which means “wisdom” topped lists in nine countries, including Italy, Slovakia, Russia and Mexico.
The Falkland Islands will be attending the fourth meeting of the British Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) will be held in London on 1 - 2 December at Lancaster House, which will be hosted by FCO Minister for the Overseas Territories James Duddridge MP.
A further sharp downturn in emerging market economies and world trade has weakened global growth to around 2.9% this year – well below its long-term average – and is a source of uncertainty for near-term prospects, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Monday.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced on Monday his government would file an appeal with the Constitutional Court to ensure that an independence declaration backed by the Catalan regional parliament has “no consequences”, he told a news conference.
A major new exhibition on Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition will open at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), London, on 21 November, with an off-shoot exhibition coming to South Georgia early in 2016. The exhibitions are inspired by the glass plate negatives taken by Endurance expedition photographer Frank Hurley, according to the latest edition of the South Georgia Newsletter
The fragile relations between neighboring Chile and Peru appeared to unwind further Saturday, after Peruvian President Ollanta Humala officially recognized an administrative district in a disputed border area. The Chilean government promptly sent a protest note to Peru strongly rejecting the law because it concerns unquestionably Chilean territory.
With two weeks to Argentina's presidential runoff on 22 November and to decide who will succeed Cristina Fernandez on 10 December, opposition candidate Mauricio Macri has a several points lead over the incumbent Daniel Scioli, although there still is a significant percentage of undecided voters, according to a public opinion poll released on Sunday.
Argentina president Cristina Fernandez has suspended her attendance to the G20 summit in Turkey to campaign for the incumbent presidential candidate, Daniel Scioli, ahead of the 22 November runoff, when he confronts opposition hopeful Mauricio Macri, the big surprise of the electoral dispute.