Stories for December 18th 2010
Chilean wine industry booming: sales up 10% and exports 11.7%
Between Jan and Oct 2010, 83 of the top 100 Chilean wineries increased their sales of bottled wine. According to figures from Wines of Chile, 68 of these wineries increased sales by more than 10%. Exports have increased by 11.7% compared to figures during the same period in 2009.
Conflicting assessments of Argentina’s defence policy and military capabilities
Conflicting assessments of Argentina’s military capacity, defence policies and future planning were given by the brand-new Defence minister, Arturo Puricelli and a former minister from the opposition.
Fiat targeting a production of over a million cars in Brazil
Fiat announced this week that it plans to invest 3 billion Real (approx. 1.7 billion USD) to build a second plant in Brazil, the carmaker’s No. 2 market after its native Italy.
China targeting economic growth of 8% and 4% inflation for 2011
The Chinese government is targeting economic growth of around 8% and inflation of around 4% next year, state television reported this week, citing Zhang Ping, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Full reimbursement for ‘Brilliance of the Seas’ Mediterranean cruise passengers
The nearly 2,060 Royal Caribbean “Brilliance of the Seas” passengers who endured a horrifying early morning in the Mediterranean won't be paying a dime for the experience. “The captain announced a full refund for all guests as a result of the 'unfortunate incident”, posted Cruise Critic member Lifelong Cruiser, who was onboard.
Royal Caribbean sweeps with cruise industry Travel Weekly awards
Miami-based Royal Caribbean swept half a dozen categories in the Travel Weekly awards, including the top spot for “cruise line, overall” as well as “cruise line, domestic” and “cruise line, Caribbean.” Royal Caribbean also won in the category of “cruise line, sales and service,” and the line's much-promoted new Oasis of the Seas swept the categories of “cruise ship, rookie” and “cruise ship, overall.”
Satellite data provide new way to monitor groundwater in agricultural regions
When you dive into that salad full of lettuce grown in the United States West, there’s a good chance you are enjoying the product of irrigation from an underground water source. These hidden groundwater systems are precious resources that need careful management, but regulatory groups have a hard time monitoring them, owing to a lack of accurate data.
Cars and construction spur Argentina industrial production 12.5% in November
Argentina's industrial production grew more than expected in November, on the back of big gains in automobile and construction materials output. Industrial production last month rose 12.5% on the year, and 4.1% in seasonally adjusted terms from October, the national statistics agency, Indec, reported Friday.
Dragon and Elephant: complicated neighbourhood
*By Sameer Jafri - Year 2010 marks sixty years of diplomatic relationship between India and China. Though the relations between the two go back to ancient times, the period since 1950 till present is mainly fraught with boundary dispute, which also led to a short-lived war in 1962. But in recent times, both sides have successfully attempted to normalize the bilateral relationship, mainly driven by the mounting bilateral trade.
Mapuche friendly cardinal named Archbishop of Santiago de Chile
The former archbishop of Concepción, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, has been named as the new archbishop of Chile’s capital Santiago. He will replace cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa.
