Politics

• Sunday, July 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina looking for icebreaker for 08/09 Antarctic season

  

  Argentina invited last week tenders for the provision of an ice breaker for the coming 2008/09 Antarctic season since flag carrier Almirante Irizar remains out of action following the severe fire which crippled the vessel last year. However the operation is limited to Argentine bidders.

• Saturday, July 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez visit Spain and jokes with King JuanCarlos

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez laughed and smiled his way through a hug-and-make-up visit to Spain yesterday, his first since a now-infamous exchange in which Spain's normally reserved monarch told the voluble Venezuelan leader to “shut up” at a summit in Chile last year.

• Saturday, July 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  President Cristina Fernandez gets support from officials

  

  President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner yesterday attended two ceremonies, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with her husband, Justicialist (Peronist) Party Néstor Kirchner, where both of them received support from other officials amid the political crisis the government is going through following the setback they suffered at the Senate last week and the resignation of two top officials this week.

• Saturday, July 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Labor setback in Glasgow, political earthquake for Brown

  

  Critics have increased the pressure on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after Labor's defeat in the Glasgow East by-election, but colleagues have leapt to his defense

• Saturday, July 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Obama's trip much better than he could have dared hope

  

  Barack Obama, the US presidential candidate, has ended his overseas tour with a round of meetings in London, visiting Tony Blair, the former prime minister, before going on to talks with Gordon Brown.

• Friday, July 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine/NASA satellite will measure oceans' salt levels

  

  Argentine and NASA scientists hope a new satellite will help them better track global climate change by measuring salt levels on the surface of the world's oceans.

• Friday, July 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News Update

  

  Headlines: Remelia, Shaun and Nick join the ranks; Govt: 'We want to keep BAS'; Councillor welcomes tax survey but defends increases; Jail considered for cannabis importer; Stop press: Tamar sold.

• Thursday, July 24th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Cristina Kirchner replaces top aide and cabinet chief

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner named on Wednesday a former head of the social security agency Sergio Massa as cabinet chief, in a shake-up just days after the Senate rejected a government tax hike on farm exports, reported the official news agency Telam.

• Thursday, July 24th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Spanish King and Chavez to close “shut up” incident

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez currently on a European tour is scheduled to meet Friday with Spain's King Juan Carlos in Palma de Mallorca, where the royal family is enjoying their summer holidays. The news was confirmed in Madrid by the royal palace and the presidential office.

• Thursday, July 24th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Joint efforts to keep BAS operating from the Falklands

  

  The Falkland Islands government and British Antarctic Survey, BAS, are jointly looking into ways of keeping BAS operating from the Islands. Stanley's airport insufficient fire cover is the obstacle and one of the options considered is using MPA as the primary air station.