Stories for September 12th 2009
Repsol makes huge natural gas discovery offshore Venezuela
Spain’s biggest oil company Repsol-YPF announced on Friday the discovery of a Venezuelan gas field containing as much as 8 trillion cubic feet of fuel, equivalent to 1.2 to 1.4 billion barrels, one of the world’s largest finds.
Unasur meeting in Quito to promote confidence-building measures
Ecuador expects all Foreign Affairs and Defence ministers from Unasur countries to be present next Tuesday at the meeting in Quito which is basically targeted to create and stimulate confidence-building measures in the region.
France cautions Venezuela on “nuclear links” with Iran
France cautioned Venezuela that any nuclear technology transfer from Iran would represent a “violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions”.
Russian mid range missiles (300 km) for Venezuela, and “they don’t fail”
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has announced that the country will soon take delivery of Russian missiles with a range of 300km. Returning from a 10-day tour of Africa, Asia and Europe, including Russia, Mr Chavez is also planning to buy Russian T-72 and T-90.
Paraguayan farmers anticipate record soy crop for this season: 7 million tons
Paraguayan soy bean farmers estimate that this year’s crop (2009/2010), which begins to be planted at the end of the month, could reach a new record close to seven million tons given the good climate prospects and producers enthusiasm.
German ships making history cruising Asia to Europe via Russia’s Arctic
Two German merchant ships are sailing from Asia to Europe via Russia's Arctic coast, having negotiated the once impassable North East Passage. This route is usually frozen but rising temperatures in the region caused by global warming have melted much of the ice allowing large ships to go through.
September summit in Venezuela of African and South American leaders
Relations between Africa and South America will be strengthened when leaders from the two continents meet late in September to review progress in implementing joint projects and decisions made at the previous summit in 2006.
Brazilian economy rebounds and returns to growth in second quarter
The Brazilian government announced Friday that 2009 second quarter real GDP, adjusted for inflation increased 1.9% from the first quarter of 2009, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
China’s foreign trade continued to contract in August; imports down 17%
China's exports continued to decline in August, down 23% from the same month last year. Official figures show exports fell to 103.7 billon US dollars, from 134.9 billion in August 2008. Exports of almost all major industrial products saw double-digit drops.
Cuban sentenced to two-year in jail for protesting about hunger
A Cuban court of appeals in Havana on Friday upheld the two-year sentence handed down to a man who had drunkenly protested before television cameras about hunger in Cuba, according to Cuban dissidents.
