Stories for July 25th 2009
Argentina and Brazil will address “trade differences” in Sao Paulo
Argentina and Brazil agreed to hold talks next week to address the ongoing trade differences which threaten to sour the bilateral relation. The meeting of Presidents Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Lula da Silva was held on the sidelines of the Friday Mercosur summit in Paraguay.
Mercosur warns it rejects any attempt to call new elections in Honduras
As was anticipated Mercosur released a strong condemnation of the Honduran de facto government and demanded the immediate reinstatement of constitutional president Manuel Zelaya.
Argentina/Brazil postpone local currencies swap to promote bilateral trade
Argentina and Brazil postponed the signing of a 1.8 billion US dollars swap agreement that was supposed to promote bilateral trade amid the global financial crisis. Reasons for the delay were not revealed but the event was rescheduled for August 3.
Mercosur leaders suggest lifting patent rights to produce anti A/flu vaccines
Speaking in the framework of Mercosur summit in Paraguay, the leaders of Argentina and Brazil suggested Friday that developing countries be allowed to lift patent rights so they can produce more vaccines to battle the A/H1N1 virus flu pandemic.
Ousted president Zelaya completes symbolic crossing into Honduras
The ousted president of Honduras briefly crossed on Friday the country's border with Nicaragua, in a symbolic move that United States described as “reckless”.
Third of Europeans “very concerned” with potential loss of jobs
A third of European workers are “very concerned” that they could lose their jobs as result of the financial crisis, an EU survey suggests. EU said six in 10 Europeans felt the worst of the economic crisis was to come, and only 28% said it had passed.
Royal Navy commissions first Type-45 air defence destroyer
The Royal Navy’s newest and most advanced warship HMS Daring was formally commissioned into the fleet in front of the ship's sponsor. The Countess of Wessex, who launched the Type 45 destroyer in Scotland in 2006, was principal guest at the colourful 'Christening' ceremony at Victory Jetty, Portsmouth Naval Base, Thursday 23 July 09.
Ford reports quarterly profit in “extremely challenging world”
Ford, the only one of the “Big Three” United States carmakers not to have gone bankrupt, has reported a quarterly profit of 2.3billion US dollars. However, the profit was largely due to one-off gains related to debt restructuring, with demand for new cars remaining weak.
UK fifth successive quarter of recession in April-June
Hopes of a swift end to the United Kingdom recession were shaken after figures showed a far worse than expected decline of 0.8% in the economy between April and June. The UK's fifth successive quarter of recession was much deeper than the 0.3% forecast, stunning experts and business leaders.
Falklands’ combat tested Harrier celebrates 40th birthday
The British designed and manufactured vertical take off Harrier which saw its first combat operations during the Falkland Islands campaign in 1982 this week, Thursday 23 July celebrated its fortieth birthday.
