Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez da Kirchner announced 16 February that ships going from the South American mainland to the Falklands/Malvinas will need a licence from Argentina. Britain promptly rejected the move, saying that the waters around the Falklands are UK territorial waters and the licenses will not apply. It has told the shipping industry to ignore the Argentine instructions when going from international waters to Falklands territorial waters. The two countries have disputed ownership of the islands since the 19th century and in 1982 they fought a short war, which the British Royal Navy won. Diplomatic relations were resumed in 1990. Observers are calling the new, stronger stance by Argentina “worrying”, suggesting that drilling for oil in the region may lie behind the move, with Argentina wanting a share.
Links to other countries: BBC, Canadian Press, El Pais (Spa), Mercopress
Cristian Emanuel Amuchastegui, first place, 2010 Prix de Lausanne dance competition (photo: ©2010, Jean-Bernard Sieber)
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Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Cristian Emanuel Amuchastegui, age 18, won the top prize at the 2010 Prix de Lausanne dance competition. He is from Argentina and has been studying at the Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy in Texas, USA.
Amuchastegui also won the coveted prize as the audience’s favourite, selected with a poll taken during the final performances.
His prize is a year at the dance school of his choice, from among a host of top companies that are partners of the Prix de Lausanne.
The other top winners
Dancers who place in the top six spots, including the best contemporary dance winner, all receive scholarships at top partner schools/dance companies:
Spain has agreed to Argentina’s request to extradite Dutch-Argentinian citizen Julio Alberto Poch, an airline pilot who is accused of having dumped bodies in the sea, from the air, under Argentina’s military regime, 1976-83. Poch was arrested in Valencia in September 2009, while working as a pilot for Dutch company Transavia. The flights, which he denies being part of, were known as the junta’s “death flights” and are alleged to have been linked to the disappearance of many of the 30,000 people who went missing under the regime’s rule.
London, England (GenevaLunch) - Andy Murray started strongly in the end of year ATP Masters, beating Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, the winner of the US Open, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The Scot looked in fine form in the first set, quickly going to a 5-0 lead. Del Potro suffered from an inability to maintain a rally, and a nosebleed. He came back in the second set, winning it 6-3, but quickly fell behind in the third. The match ended 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
The other match in the O2 arena saw world number one Roger Federer take on Fernando Verdasco.
Twickenham, London, England (GenevaLunch) - England played better than in recent matches, holding the All Blacks to 6-6 at half time but could not match the New Zealanders in the second half and lost 6-19. At least the England women beat the New Zealand Ferns.
Scotland pulled off a surprise 9-8 victory over Australia where their heart was just enough to hold out against the technically better Wallabies. It was their first win against the Aussies for 27 years. Wales beat Argentina 33-16 with two tries by Shane Williams.
Links to other sites: The Guardian, The Times
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The international football federation, Fifa, has handed Argintina’s football coach and former superstar Diego Maradona a CHF25,000 fine and a two month ban on participating in any football-related activities. Maradona’s outburst at the qualifying match between Uruguay and Argentina 14 October 2009 in Montevideo. Maradona, who was interviewed for 40 minutes by Fifa’s disciplinary committee, apologized to Fifa and the football world. The ban runs from 15 November-15 January 2010.
Croke park, Dublin,Ireland (GenevaLunch) - Irish captain Brian O’ Driscoll celebrated his 100th cap for Ireland with a last minute try that allowed the home team to draw their match with Australia 20-20. In other matches a dull England side plodded their way to a 16-9 win over Argentina. The New Zealand All Blacks struggled against a tough Italian side before winning 6-20 in front of 80,000 fans in the San Siro stadium in Milan.
Links to other sites: Irish Times, The Times
An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 shook the provinces of Salta and Jujuy in Argentina’s northwest, early 6 November. The epicentre was 165 km northeast of the capital of Salta, in the Serranía de la Mesada near the border with Bolivia. Reports of injuries and damage were not immediately available, according to the national Earthquake Prevention Institute, Inpres.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Nineteen countries have now secured their places in the Fifa World Cup finals to be held in South Africa in 2010 after the penultimate games in the qualification series. In the African group Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are through and six places are up for grabs. Australia, Japan and the two Koreas take the Asian places with one more team entering a playoff with New Zealand. Seven of the 13 European places are decided:
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland moved to the top of its qualifying group for the 2010 Fifa World Cup with a 2-0 win over Greece in their match. The Swiss scored two goals in the final 10 minutes after playing much of the game with an extra man as Vyntra was sent off for receiving two yellow cards.
Iran’s new government contains one woman, Marzieh-Vahid Dastjerdi, as health minister, the first in the Islamic Republic’s history. The parliament approved most of the cabinet proposed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, recently re-elected president, although it rejected two other women.
The new defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, is a hardliner and former chief of the elite Quds force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. He is wanted by Interpol and the Argentine government for his alleged involvement in the 1994 explosion of the headquarters of Amia, a Jewish organization in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. He received the most votes from parliament. CNN, Reuters, Clarin (Spa)
Honduras ordered all members of the Argentine embassy in Tegucigalpa to leave the country within three days, Tuesday 18 August. But Argentine foreign minister, Jorge Taiana, on a trade mission in Mexico, said he had not been informed of the deadline, and his diplomats were staying put. The Honduran ministry of foreign affairs said it was expelling the diplomats in line with “strict reciprocity” for the expulsion last week of the Honduran ambassador in Buenos Aires, who stated publicly that she approved of the forced removal of Manuel Zelaya as Hondura’s president last 28 June. The interim government of Honduras said its relations with Argentina would be conducted through the Argentine embassy in Israel. Honduras previously expelled Venezuelan diplomats, most of whom have stayed because President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela says he will not take orders from the interim government. BBC, Clarin (Spa), CNN, La Nación (Spa)
Title: Tango madness in Lausanne
Location: Lausanne, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: This is the tenth edition of one of the most popular Argentinean tango festivals. Meeting places: the Montbenon Casino and the park.
You can dance non-stop from 15:00 to 4:00 the next day and until Monday 1 June. Milongas, live orchestras, DJs and more.
Start Date: 28 May 2009
End Date: 01 Jun 2009
Raul Alfonsin, the first democratically elected leader of Argentina after the military regime that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983, has died after an illness, age 82. His economic record has been criticized but he is credited with bringing the country back to a democratic regime. BBC
A pit filled with an estimated 10,000 human bones is being excavated in La Plata, south of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near a former detention centre, possibly giving the first solid proof that many of the country’s “disappeared” population really were killed by the military dictatorship during the late 1970s and early 1980s. BBC
