Mercosur

• Sunday, August 24th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Iran cuts economic relations with Argentina

  Iran has announced that it is cutting cultural and economic ties with Argentina following the arrest of its former Ambassador to Buenos Aires last week.

• Friday, August 22nd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Ex-Iranian ambassador in Argentina to appear in British court

  A former Iranian ambassador to Argentina is due to appear in a British court over the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that killed 85 people.

• Thursday, August 21st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Preparing for the WTO Cancún trade round

  Several Latinamerican countries joined China, India, South Africa among others, in the presentation before the World Trade Organization, WTO, of a proposal to liberalize agriculture trade in response to a previous initiative from United States and the European Union, described as “unbalanced”.

• Thursday, August 21st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine minister denies any “institutional risk”

  The Argentine government “stands in cohesion” and the differences between president Nestor Kirchner and vice-president Daniel Scioli represent no “institutional risk”, underlined this week Alberto Fernández Argentine government cabinet chief.

• Thursday, August 21st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine economy “cooling”

  Even when the Argentine economy shows a strong expansion compared to a year ago the latest official economic data release indicate that activity is slowing down particularly in the industrial sector.

• Thursday, August 21st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazilians applaud cut in interest rates

  The Brazilian government, business leaders and unions on Wednesday lauded the 2.5 percent decrease in interest rates announced by the Central Bank but noted that the rates must continue to come down to help the economy.

• Thursday, August 21st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Signatures invalid, so probably no referendum this year

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, on a four-day official visit to Argentina, said Wednesday that it was unlikely that a referendum to recall his mandate would be held this year because the signatures submitted by the opposition to initiate the process have no constitutional validity.

• Thursday, August 21st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine Senate annuls amnesty laws on human rights violations

  The Argentine Senate on Thursday annulled amnesty laws which benefited 1,000 mainly soldiers and police officers accused of committing human rights violations during the 1976-1983 dictatorship.

• Wednesday, August 20th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Breaking News.

  Headlines:
  Kirchner-Lagos meeting in Patagonia; A red “Maradona” Cabernet please?; Destruction of antipersonnel mines; Abattoir tender in doubt; A storm is brewing;

• Wednesday, August 20th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile on the “right course”.

  Chile is on the “right course”, said Enrique Iglesias president of the Interamerican Development Bank, IDB, in direct reference to the country's economy.