Stories for March 2nd 2009
Can art save Uruguay's gem mines?
A Uruguayan mining company is turning to art to beat the effects of the global economic slowdown on its amethyst exports.
Wall Street below 7.000 benchmark drags global markets
Markets have fallen worldwide, rattled by fears that turmoil in the financial sector is far from over. On Wall Street, the US Dow Jones index fell below 7,000 points for the first time since October 1997.
Fidel had his first stroll through Havana, says Chavez
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, though still convalescing from the illness that sidelined him in July 2006, recently “went for a walk on the streets of Havana” said Venezuelan President Hugo Ch?vez over the weekend.
Brown to meet Obama with EU (patched) unity message
Prime Minister Gordon Brown flies to Washington Monday declaring European unity over the financial crisis despite a growing rift between major EU economies and member states from central and Eastern Europe.
Peru invites Chile to coordinate copper sales globally
Peruvian president Alan Garcia has suggested Peru and Chile should coordinate copper exploitation policies so as to have better control over international prices. The initiative occurs twenty years after the dissolution of the last copper cartel in the world.
Brazil: dispute over federal funds for landless peasants
Brazil's cabinet Chief Dilma Rousseff said the government will continue to support financially the Landless Peasants Movement, MST, until it has been proven that the organization is using the funds for illegal actions, reported the official news agency Agencia Estado.
Paraguay announces trade countermeasures on Argentina and Brazil
Paraguay will apply tariff related measures on imports from Argentina and Brazil to protect local industry announced the country's Finance minister Dionisio Borda arguing that the treatment will be similar to that from the senior Mercosur partners.
British team treks to North Pole to measure ice sheet
British team has begun a gruelling trek to the North Pole to discover how quickly the Arctic sea-ice is melting.
UN praises landmines milestone treaty, but “much work remains”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended the tireless efforts undertaken over the past decade to rid the world of anti-personnel landmines, while stressing that much work remains to eliminate this global scourge.
Central banker upbeat on Brazil's capacity to cope slowdown
Brazil's economy is in a strong position to weather the financial crisis and will grow above the global average this year, Brazil's Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said on Sunday in Portugal.
