Stories for April 2007

Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Icebreaker “Almirante Irizar” ablaze in the South Atlantic

Argentine icebreaker “Almirante Irizar” is ablaze in the South Atlantic and all the crew has abandoned ship in an orderly way, with no loss of life or injured, reported the Argentine Navy Wednesday in a press conference in Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Argentine policy to contain inflation “has collapsed”

The Argentine government prices policy “has collapsed” and inflation could become out of control warned on Wednesday Javier Gonzalez Fraga, a former Central Bank president and expert in capital markets.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Argentina to lead regional growth in 2007, says IMF

A report from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, increased 2007 growth forecasts for the region with Argentina clearly leading while Chile and Paraguay expansions were downgraded.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Bolivia “shifts strategy” and attacks coca growing stronghold

Bolivia opened a new front this week in its fight to reduce illegal coca production, sending United States backed eradication teams into a traditional coca-growing region in the Andean foothills long avoided by previous governments.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Emergency plan to preserve Ecuador's Galapagos islands

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa ordered his cabinet ministers to urgently discuss ways of preventing environmental degradation in Ecuador's famed Galapagos Islands. Correa's suggestions include restricting tourist and residency permits as well as flights to the islands.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Montevideo port intent in attracting Spanish fishing fleet

Uruguay has plans to improve Montevideo port facilities with the purpose of attracting the Spanish fishing fleet operating in the South Atlantic.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Argentina: first hike in gas prices in five years appealed

Argentina's National Ombudsman Eduardo Mondino filed Tuesday an appeal with the courts seeking to stop a retroactive hike in gas prices that the President Nestor Kirchner administration authorized in the province of Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
China announces plans to overhaul export policies

China's state media announced Wednesday the country's authorities are planning an overhaul of policies favouring the export sector in an effort to rein in its huge trade surplus and reduce tensions with major trading partners.
Wednesday, April 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Fed more worried about inflation than economic weakness

Wall Street declined Wednesday following the release of Federal Reserve minutes from last month's meeting showing policymakers were unanimous in the view that inflation, not economic weakness, was their major worry.
Tuesday, April 10th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Bush renews immigration bill call

US President George W Bush has again stressed the need for agreement in Washington on immigration reform.
Visiting a border post in Arizona, Mr Bush said the US needed a system that secured its frontiers while honouring its history as a nation of immigrants.