Stories for May 14th 2007
Higher costs make Petrobras first quarter profit drops 38%
Petrobras Brazil's government owned hydrocarbons company said first-quarter profit fell 38% as oil prices dropped and costs rose. Net income dropped to 4.13 billion reais (2.05 billion US dollars), 6.68 billion reais in the first quarter of 2006, and net sales rose 8.4 % to 38.98 billion reais.
Pope ends visit criticizing Marxism and neo-liberalism policies
Pope Benedict XVI ended Sunday his five day visit to Brazil with a strong speech to Latinamerican cardinals and bishops criticising “authoritarian governments” and condemning the growing gap between rich and poor in the region.
Riverboat-style cruise with 200 pax has to be rescued off Alaska
The riverboat-style cruise ship “Empress of the North” that ran aground off the Alaska coast has finally reached Juneau Monday afternoon. She arrived with a US Coast Guard escort about ten hours after it became grounded early morning.
Stray Magellanic penguin swims 5.000 kilometres to Peru
A Magellanic penguin whose natural habitat is the extreme south of Patagonia and the Falkland Islands has strayed thousands of miles and swam all the way to Peru's Paracas national reserve.
Yosemite and Torres del Paine twinning agreement
California's Yosemite and Chile's Torres del Paine national parks administrators visited this week Punta Arenas and met with local authorities in the framework of the recently signed twinning agreement with the purpose of promoting sustainable tourism.
OAS willing to sponsor dialogue with Cuba
The Organization of American States, OAS, Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza discarded the possibility of Venezuela abandoning the institution and underlined he favored the opening of dialogue with Cuba.
Cable or satellite option for censored Venezuelan TV station
Venezuela's Minister of Communication and Information William Lara said private television station RCTV would be able to broadcast on cable or satellite following May 27, the date when its broadcast license to operate in open free radio frequency expires.
Ecuador's Correa, the continent's leader with most support
Ecuador's president Rafael Correa is the Latinamerican leader with most support in the continent while his counterpart in Guatemala Oscar Berger ranks in the opposite end, according to a report published by the Mexican public opinion consultants Mitofsky.
