Stories for October 23rd 2010
Mujica praises a free unregulated press, even “sometimes they make you mad”
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica insisted that the best regulation for the media is no regulation, although admitting that many times he feels disappointed, when not furious with some of the articles published.
Latam shoe industry calls for “united front” against China’s disloyal practices
Latin America’s foot-wear industry are proposing a “united front” against what they describe as “disloyal trade practices” from China, as part of the Asian giant’s foreign trade policies.
Bolivian navy to have access to the Pacific for the first time in 130 years
For the first time in more than 130 years, the Bolivian Navy will have access to the Pacific Ocean, after the heads of state of Bolivia and Peru signed an agreement to grant Bolivia access to the sea near the Peruvian port of Ilo.
G20 rejects as “planned economy” US proposal setting targets to trade imbalances
US proposals that countries set targets to reduce trade imbalances appeared to be running into opposition at the G20 meeting of leading economies. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote to G20 members on Friday suggesting limiting surpluses and deficits to a percentage of output.
Land purchases by foreign investors, an “explosive cocktail” for small farmers
Land purchases by foreign investors in poor countries and the growing use of bio-fuels are boosting pressures on agricultural farmland and helping make 500 million small farmers hungry, a U.N. envoy said this week.
Russia Gazprom joins France’s Total in Bolivian gas joint venture
Russian energy company Gazprom has plans to take a 20% stake in natural gas projects in Bolivia, the gas monopoly said. Gazprom said it could take the stake under the terms of a September deal with French energy company Total for the Ipati and Aquio gas blocks in Bolivia.
Argentine industrial production soars 9.7% in September over a year ago
Argentina's industrial production surged in September boosted by domestic demand and strong export markets. Industrial production rose 9.7% in September from the year-ago month, and was up 1.2% from August, the national statistics agency Indec reported Friday.
South American soy producers ally “to avoid buyers’ manipulation”
Argentina and Brazil are negotiating an alliance with other South American producers of grains and oilseeds to deal jointly with buyers in Asia and elsewhere, according to Brazilian Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi.
Dilma ten percentage points ahead of Serra, with only a week left
Brazil’s ruling party candidate Dilma Rousseff is pulling ahead in the presidential run-off as the focus of the campaign shifts away from controversial social issues and back to the economic gains of recent years.
Radar system in the Falklands to monitor the “Southern Lights”
Physicists and engineers at the University of Leicester and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have installed a radar system on the Falkland Islands to monitor the upper atmosphere activity which creates the ‘Southern Lights’.
