Stories for December 30th 2008
Argentina temporarily takes over gas pipeline operator
Argentina appointed a supervisor to help oversee pipeline operator Transportadora de Gas del Norte SA, TGN, after the company said it will default on 22.1 million US dollars debt, Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido announced Monday.
Uruguay: consumers must benefit from cheaper commodities
The Uruguayan government will intervene, if necessary, in the domestic market distribution chain to ensure that the full benefit of the falling international prices of commodities effectively reaches the consumer, announced several ministers following the Monday cabinet meeting.
Argentina declares Darwin cemetery National Historic Site
The Argentine Darwin cemetery in the Falkland Islands has been formally declared a national historic site in a decree signed by Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner according to reports in the Buenos Aires press.
Brazilian wants larger representation in Mercosur parliament
The president of the Mercosur Parliament has stated that Brazil should have four times the number of representatives from Paraguay and Uruguay. Deputy Doctor Rosinha argued that since Brazil has a population of 187 million, it should have 75 representatives, Argentina 33 and Paraguay and Uruguay, 18 each.
Energy: strong Big Brother Brazil medicine for Paraguay
Brazil is willing to correct with Paraguay some practical distortions in the implementation of the Itaipú shared hydroelectric dam system, but “not the Treaty”, said Marco Aurelio Garcia, President Lula da Silva's main international affairs advisor.
Dakar rally spirit invades Buenos Aires ready for launching
More than ten thousand people and 500 vehicles turned up on Monday in Buenos Aires, for the official launching of the 2009 Dakar Rally, which for the first time will be disputed outside Africa and takes off next January 3 from the Argentine capital covering 9.600 kilometres of Argentine and Chilean territory.
UK covered up Falklands dependency Argentine occupation
The British Foreign office actively colluded with the Argentine Junta in the late seventies to cover up the occupation of a remote Falkland Islands dependency, Southern Thule, according to The Telegraph based on newly declassified files.
Petrol price reached three-year low in United Kingdom
The price of petrol has reached a three-year low in the United Kingdom, according to the Automobile Association and reported in the London press. The average cost of petrol at the beginning of this week was 87.79p a litre compared with 88.27p at the end of December 2005.
Brazil openly admits trade surplus benefits from Mercosur
The lack of mechanisms to correct asymmetries and finance infrastructure projects are the biggest hurdles for Mercosur and Latinamerican integration, according to the Brazilian presidency main foreign policy advisor Marco Aurelio Garcia.
Paraguay GDP grows 5.8% in 2008; record per capita income
The Paraguayan GDP expanded 5.8% in 2008 with a good performance in almost all sectors and a record per capita income, according to preliminary figures from the Central Bank released this week.
