
At least two Uruguayan lawmakers have confirmed to the British embassy in Montevideo that they will be travelling to the Falkland Islands next March for the referendum on the Islands political status and future. The trips are financed by the embassy and according to parliament sources in Montevideo the list could become longer.The news was published in a Montevideo weekly.

This Friday the Malvinas Forum, chapter Uruguay will be celebrating its first anniversary and is expected to announce a statement strongly rejecting the coming referendum in the Falklands on the Islands political status which is scheduled for March 10/11. The meeting will be held in Maldonado where it was originally launched.

Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman said on Thursday that the British government’s position on the Falklands/Malvinas Islands issue “smells too much like petroleum”, revealing that UK’s biggest interest in keeping the invaded archipelago is due to the potential oil findings.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi admitted on Thursday policy makers are concerned that the Euro strength will hamper their efforts to pull the economy out of recession and although the exchange rate is not a policy target, he confirmed “it is important for growth and price stability”.

The Disposal Services Authority (DSA) of the British Ministry of Defence has invited offers for the sale of four decommissioned Royal Navy Type 22 frigates. The frigates HMS Chatham, HMS Campbeltown, HMS Cumberland and HMS Cornwall all went up for the bidding process on January 23, with viewings available this month and next.

An Argentine columnist has found two great virtues: audacity and tolerance in Foreign Minister Hector Timerman current incursion in London to lobby and argue in favour of the most intransigent of Argentina’s position on the Falklands’ dispute.

There is no such thing as Falkland Islanders, the Argentine Foreign minister Hector Timerman insisted during a press conference in London on Wednesday, claiming they are British citizens living in disputed islands. He claimed the United Nations only acknowledges two parties in the territorial dispute: UK and Argentina.

European personalities from politics, culture and academia meeting in London for a two-day event expressed their support for Argentina’s claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and signed a declaration calling on the UK to resume discussions for a peaceful and definitive solution to the ongoing dispute.

European police investigation into a huge football match-fixing and betting ring has reopened questions about an under-20 friendly between Argentina and Bolivia two years ago. The game, played in Córdoba in December 2010, was mentioned in the European investigators' inquiry.

Foreign minister Luis Almagro announced that Uruguay will work for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada during the first half of the year when Uruguay holds the chair of the South American group that also includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela.