Politics

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 22:10 UTC

  Falklands recovers community land 30 after the war, following mines’ clearance

  

  Thirty years after the end of the South Atlantic conflict, the people of the Falkland Islands will be recovering an iconic leisure ground which remained banned for three decades because of the mines planted by the retreating Argentine forces that invaded the Islands 2 April 1982.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 22:01 UTC

  Poll shows 61% UK support for defending the Falklands; young voters not so sure

  

  As the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the South Atlantic conflict approaches, a new poll conducted in the UK by the newspaper The Guardian has shown that British people are largely determined to defend the islands.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 21:51 UTC

  Peru denies President Humala coming UK visit; confirms May trip to Argentina

  

  Peruvian Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Roncagliolo denied President Ollanta Humala had accepted an invitation to visit London next month, Lima’s El Comercio reported Tuesday in the front page.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 21:49 UTC

  Moody’s: Spain needs to implement more austerity; 4.000 town councils financially ‘non viable’

  

  Rating agency Moody's said on Tuesday that Spain's fiscal outlook remained challenging despite recently softened deficit targets. The announcement comes when the Secretary for Public administration admitted that 4.000 ‘ayuntamientos’ town councils in Spain are not financially viable.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 05:05 UTC

  Mujica promises to “fight to the death” for the future of Mercosur

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica promised on Monday to ‘fight to the death’ for the future of Mercosur in spite of the fact that the group’s junior members Uruguay and Paraguay are suffering the most as Argentina and Brazil implement growing hurdles to trade.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 05:02 UTC

  WB backs selective use of capital controls when faced with massive inflows

  

  The World Bank’s new Latin America chief backed selective use of capital controls when inflows were creating asset bubbles or distorting foreign exchange markets. Hasan Tuluy, the Bank’s new vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean, said while trade protectionism should be avoided, there was space for macro prudential measures.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 04:51 UTC

  Peru cancels HMS Montrose visit in support of Argentina’s Falklands claim

  

  In a display of “Latin American support for Argentina’s legitimate rights,” the Peruvian government announced on Monday its decision to render void the protocol visit of a British frigate scheduled to dock in a Peruvian port this week.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 04:46 UTC

  Australian Senate approves law to tax 30% iron ore and coal mining companies

  

  The Australian Senate has pushed through into law a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies. The tax will raise A$10.6bn (11.2bn dollars) over three years from major companies including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xtrata.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 01:24 UTC

  Rousseff administration will promote “buy Brazilian” policy to defend industry

  

  “As of this year Brazil will follow the US example giving a 25% margin of preference to local goods in government procurement”, said Fernando Pimentel, Minister for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 01:16 UTC

  Argentine truckers call for indefinite strike as soy bean crop was taking off

  

  Argentina’s truckers called Monday an indefinite strike to demand higher pay rates, parking their rigs in protest just as exporters were counting on them to haul freshly harvested soybeans to port.