Politics

• Monday, February 13th 2012 - 06:01 UTC

  It is official: Uruguay’s UPM-Botnia pulp mill does not contaminate, never has

  

  A huge pulp mill, UPM, which has been at the heart of a several years’ controversy between Uruguay and Argentina, does not contaminate revealed Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro before the Uruguayan parliament.

• Monday, February 13th 2012 - 05:48 UTC

  Argentine congress will discuss Malvinas issue in special session in Tierra del Fuego

  

  The Argentine congress will be holding an extraordinary session next 24 February in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego to debate on the Falklands/Malvinas conflict. Under the 1994 Argentine constitution, the Falklands come under the jurisdiction of the province of Tierra del Fuego.

• Monday, February 13th 2012 - 05:39 UTC

  Chile denies ‘media rumours’ of Argentine sea and air blockade to the Falklands

  

  Chilean Foreign Affairs minister Alfredo Moreno denied rumours that Argentina had requested Chile to join a blockade of the Falklands Islands and also reassured that the government of President Cristina Fernandez has not questioned the commercial air link between Santiago and the Islands.

• Monday, February 13th 2012 - 05:33 UTC

  Argentine Church calls on government and opposition not to take advantage of Malvinas dispute

  

  The Argentine Catholic Church supports the country’s claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands but also called on the Executive and the rest of the Argentine leadership not to use the Malvinas issue with a political purpose.

• Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 08:00 UTC

  Brazil readies 14.000 troops in case Rio do Janeiro police strike extends

  

  Brazil prepared to deploy troops on the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Friday, as a strike by the state's police force threatened to disrupt upcoming carnival festivities and raised new questions about security before the 2014 World Cup.

• Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 07:55 UTC

  President Mujica tells his lawmakers to stop acting petty and start working

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called on the ruling coalition to stop acting with ‘pettiness’ and look forward to the legislative challenge of 2012 which includes several initiatives in different fields and he described as ‘essential’.

• Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 07:46 UTC

  Argentina says Uruguay should be grateful for all the investments and jobs created

  

  Relations with the Uruguayan government couldn’t be better, with no obstacles ahead, and much of the success of the Uruguayan economy is influenced by Argentina, said ambassador in Montevideo Dante Dovena.

• Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 07:39 UTC

  Putin boosts presidential campaign with a tot of Antarctic ice prehistoric water

  

  Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was given a water sample Friday taken from a pristine lake hidden under Antarctic ice for over a million years, after Russian scientists drilled down to its surface.

• Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 07:34 UTC

  Argentine police beats up environmentalists protesting mining projects: 24 injured

  

  At least 24 people were injured after Argentine police using rubber bullets, tear gas, dogs and riot vehicles violently cleared demonstrators blocking a national route to protest a mining project by Swiss and Canadian companies in the northeast of the country.

• Saturday, February 11th 2012 - 01:34 UTC

  UK is open to bilateral talks with Argentina on any issue except Falklands’ sovereignty

  

  UN British ambassador warned Argentina on Friday that Britain would “robustly” defend the Falkland Islands if necessary, but added that his country remained open to bilateral talks with Buenos Aires on any issue except the Islands' sovereignty.