Mercosur

• Saturday, March 27th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Summer time in the European Union.

  European Union countries will be advancing the time one hour this Sunday early morning as part of the EU policy to save energy.

• Friday, March 26th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Energy crisis makes Argentina rationalize gas exports.

  The Argentine government decided Thursday evening to rationalize natural gas exports to ensure domestic market supply, according to official sources in Buenos Aires.

• Friday, March 26th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Almost half of Argentines still poor.

  Eleven million people, just below half the total Argentine population still live under the poverty line and five million of them are described as living in indigent conditions, according to the latest report from the National Statistics Office.

• Thursday, March 25th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay drafting new fisheries law

  Uruguay is putting the finishing touches to new fishery legislation to replace the current Law dating from 1969, announced director of the National Directorate of Aquatic Resources (DINARA) Yamandú Flangini during a conference at the Maritime League of Uruguay.

• Thursday, March 25th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  LAN: new corporate image and more expansion

  Chile's main air flag carrier presented this week in Santiago its new corporate image, both internationally and domestically, with the trade mark LAN, which will identify and unify all the companies with the Lan prefix, Lan Chile, Lan Peru, Lan Ecuador and Lan Dominicana.

• Thursday, March 25th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Dictators' portraits withdrawn from military academy

  In a related event marking Argentina's Army commander this Wednesday withdrew the portraits of two former General dictators from the walls of the military academy.

• Thursday, March 25th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina honours victims of last dictatorship

  In a very emotive ceremony on the 28th anniversary of Argentina's last military coup, president Nestor Kirchner and Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra signed this Wednesday in Buenos Aires City an agreement making one of the most notorious symbols of the bloody repression of the seventies, the Naval School of Mechanics, into a Space for the Memory, Promotion and Defence of Human Rights.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina Fisheries ordinance ready “before the end of 2004”

  Argentina aspires to a “fishing country” instead of a ”country with fisheries, said Under-Secretary of Fishery and Aquaculture, Gerardo Nieto, who also promised a new fisheries ordinance before 2004 is over.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia remembers loss of Pacific access.

  Thousands of Bolivians from all over the country this Tuesday took to the streets and remained in silence for five minutes paralyzing all activities, as part of the central commemoration of the loss to Chile, 125 years ago, of Bolivia's maritime territory.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula defends orthodox economic policies.

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended his administration's economic policies that have come under strong attack from groups in his own Workers Party, particularly criticizing the working of the financial system.