Mercosur

• Friday, July 11th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina free of FAM with vaccination

  Argentina was officially declared free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination by the Paris based International Epizooties Organization, OIE. However the decision actually applies to the north of parallel 42, since Patagonia has and continues to be free of FAM without vaccination.

• Friday, July 11th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Volkswagen Shows Last Edition of Beetle

  As the oldest passenger car still in production, the old Beetle enjoyed one last moment of newness again, as Volkswagen unveiled the “Last Edition” of the bug, a cult classic the company plans to stop producing in a few weeks.

• Thursday, July 10th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina May OK 'Dirty War' Extradition

  President Nestor Kirchner is considering passing a decree allowing former military leaders accused of human rights abuses during Argentina's military dictatorship to be extradited for trial, news reports said Wednesday.

• Wednesday, July 9th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Strong trade surplus in Chile.

  Chile managed a trade surplus of 1.798,6 billion during the first half of 2003, with exports totalling 10.359 billion and imports 8,561 billion US dollars.

• Wednesday, July 9th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula faces first strike

  With only six months in office Brazilian president and former union leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces his first national strike following federal government employees' decision to cease activities in protest against the proposed reform to the pension system.

• Tuesday, July 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner tops public opinion ratings.

  Argentine President Nestor Kirchner in office since last May 25 has a positive image among 90,3% of the population according to a poll published this Sunday in the Buenos Aires press. The opinion poll also indicates that his strong standing has reduced his negative image to a mere 1,8% of interviews.

• Tuesday, July 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  “FTAA on track”, says US.

  The Free Trade Association of the Americas, FTAA, that should become effective in 2005 involving 34 countries of the Americas “is 90% concluded, although we still have to solve, agriculture and intellectual property, which are the toughest issues”, remarked United States Ambassador Luis Lauredo in Guatemala.

• Tuesday, July 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean scars remain unhealed

  Thirty years after the 1973 bloody military coup that enthroned dictator Augusto Pinochet, 87% of Chileans believe the country still has not achieved national reconciliation, according to a public opinion poll published last Sunday in Santiago's main daily El Mercurio.

• Tuesday, July 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Appeal to the Argentine Armed Forces

  Addressing the top brass of the Armed Forces on Monday night Argentine president Nestor Kirchner told officers from the three services that “we can't take charge of the painful moments of our fatherland without contributing to the truth”, and further on emphasized that the re-encounter of Argentines “must not come from silence and complicity”.

• Tuesday, July 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner-Blair meeting

  Argentine president Nestor Kirchner will be leaving Thursday night for London to begin a week long meeting with European leaders in France, Spain and Brussels where he will be meeting EU Executive Committee president Romano Prodi.