United Nations, June 14 (RHC)  UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon stressed the strong regional support of Argentina sovereignty over the Malvinas islands, named by the British Falklands.

La Paz, June 14 (RHC) -- The Movement of Solidarity with Cuba in Bolivia celebrated Thursday the 84th anniversary of the birth of Argentinean-born Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, who died in that Andean country fighting for his Latin American revolutionary ideals.

United Nations, June 14 (PL-RHC) -- UN political circles focus their attention Thursday on Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez, who is reiterating her country’s claim of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands during a session of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization.

Caracas, June 14 (RHC) -- Former Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez took over as secretary general of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on Thursday in Quito.

Rio de Janeiro, June 14 (Xinhua-RHC) -- The upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), also known as the Earth Summit, entered its final preliminary lap Wednesday with the third and last session of the preparatory committee.

Rio de Janeiro, June 14 (Xinhua-RHC) -- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Wednesday that maintaining economic growth while protecting the environment is achievable and called for countries to commit to sustainable development goals.

London, June 14 (PL-RHC) -- Venezuela has surpassed Saudi Arabia to become the world’s new leader in proven oil reserves, holding a figure equivalent to 296.5 billion of barrels by the end of 2011, official sources reported on Thursday.  According to the Statistical Review of World Energy released by British Petroleum, Saudi Arabia’s figures were equivalent to 265.4 billion barrels.

Asuncion, June 14 (RHC) -- Paraguay will launch a state-sponsored relief program targeting some 186,000 children under five years of age who suffer from malnutrition.

Madrid, June 14 (RHC)-- Spain's borrowing costs have risen to another Euro-era record, with lenders demanding a higher interest rate.  The yield on benchmark 10-year bonds hit 7% on Thursday morning, a level which many analysts believe is unsustainable in the long term.

Damascus, June 14 (RHC)-- Reports from Syria indicate that at least one and possibly more mercenaries from Spain have died in that country's conflict.  According to the SANA news agency, along with the Spanish newspapers El Pais and El Mundo, a 32-year-old Spanish citizen named Rachid Wahbi was killed in Syria in recent days.

Tunis, June 14 (RHC)-- In Tunisia, opinion polls show that the vast majority of people are pleased with the sentence passed on former President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, but would like to see him extradited from Saudia Arabia.

Cairo, June 14 (RHC)-- Egypt's supreme court has ruled that former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq can run for president in elections this weekend.  The court had been considering a law that would have barred him from standing for office on the grounds that he was a member of the former regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Islamabad, June 14 (RHC)-- At least three people have been killed in a U.S. drone attack in the Pakistani town of Miranshah in North Waziristan.  Pakistani officials say the attack targeted militants in a central market.

Washington, June 14 (RHC)-- The Washington Post is reporting the U.S. is dramatically expanding covert spying operations across the continent of Africa, creating a network of air bases to supposedly help monitor and target militants.

Brussels, June 14 (RHC)-- Nokia is cutting another 10,000 jobs globally and has warned that second-quarter losses from its mobile phone business will be larger than expected.  The cuts bring total planned job cuts at the Finnish group since Stephen Elop took over as chief executive in September 2010 to more than 40,000 employees.