Stories for July 7th 2009
Mrs. Clinton bridges dialogue between Honduras “ousted and interim” leaders
Ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya was scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday, as the country's political crisis talks moved to Washington.
Lula da Silva criticizes G8 summit; calls for BRIC participation
Rich countries are not living up to their pledges to help developing countries weather the effects of the global economic crisis said Brazilian president Lula da Silva, ahead of this week’s G8 meeting in Italy.
Brazilian beef processor raises cattle slaughter capacity to 26.000 head
Brazilian corporation JBS SA, the world's biggest beef processor said on Monday it had raised its slaughtering and de-boning capacity in Brazil by around 25% through the leasing of five more plants.
Bolivia considering closing border with Argentina because of the flu
Bolivia is considering temporarily closing part of its extended border with Argentina, (773 kilometres long), because of the outbreak and quick spread of the A/H1N1 virus flu in that country, anticipated Health minister Ramiro Tapia over the weekend.
Uruguay’s June inflation 1.4% and 6.48% in last twelve months
Uruguay’s consumer price inflation rose 1.4% in June, the highest in the last twelve months, but was the lowest 2.82% for the first half of the year since 2005, according to the latest release from the country’s Statistics Office.
Corruption claims erode Lula da Silva’s control over the Senate
The Brazilian Senate --whose president Jose Sarney has been accused of corruption--, apparently has a secret bank account operating millions of US dollars and a private “bunker” for a few, with facilities for “intimate” dates, according to reports in the Sao Paulo and Brasilia press.
Possible first death of Norovirus on cruise vessel
A man has died and more than 150 people have taken ill on board a cruise liner berthed in Invergordon, Easter Ross, Scotland. The vomiting bug, norovirus, is thought to have taken hold on the Marco Polo, which is touring the UK and Ireland with about 800 passengers and 350 crew members.
First test for China’s Yuan as trade currency
China has begun a trial scheme that allows trade with its neighbours to be settled with its own currency the Yuan. Six Shanghai companies have signed contracts with counterparts in Hong Kong and Indonesia to settle deals in the currency.
Magellanic Penguins in southern Chile threatened species
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (UICN) last week identified a “Red List” of nearly 17,000 plant and animal species in danger of disappearance, and 800 species already extinct.
Stiglitz calls for an open debate on the global financial reform
The debate on the restructuring of the world economy can’t be limited to a “closed club”, be it the G8 or the G20, and the United Nations must play a “vital role” in those discussions said Economy Nobel Prize Joseph Stiglitz in a column published Monday in the French newspaper Les Echos.
