Stories for 2008

Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Bernanke anticipates small bank failures linked to mortgages

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that small US banks are likely to fail in the months ahead as the housing slump takes its toll. Bernanke also warned that the US is currently facing a more difficult situation than in the aftermath of the dotcom bust in 2001.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News update

Healines: In the drink; Cheap flights for vets; Planning for Argentine visit; Budget deliberations out in the open?; Desire announces farm-in deal; Foreign Affairs committee here next month; Corinthian II leads week of cruising.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Raul Castro's Cuba signs binding human rights covenants

Cuba signed on Thursday two legally binding human rights agreements at the United Nations in New York just days after Raul Castro was sworn in as the new president. The covenants - part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - commit Cuba to freedom of expression and association, and the right to travel, which Fidel Castro long opposed.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
The Botnia pulp mill dispute illustrates failure of Mercosur

So much for the announcement, but even if the events were not to be held, the mere planning of the gatherings should help reveal the depth of the failure of Mercosur, as an ambitious vision, and the absence of Argentina's foreign policy for its national borders.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
US nuclear carrier in exercise with Brazil and Argentine navies

Nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington, one of the world's most impressive man-o-war and three other US Navy units will be participating in joint exercises with the navies from Brazil and Argentina along the coast of Rio do Janeiro, reports Correio Braziliense Friday edition.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Argentina plans LNG import by sea to face winter shortage

Argentina is planning to import, by sea, liquid gas, LNG, in the coming months in an effort to anticipate and contain a repeat of past winters shortages, reports the Friday edition of the Buenos Aires press.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Seism shakes north east Brazil causing panic but no victims

A slight tremor with 3.9 Ritcher scale degree intensity, lasting a few seconds, followed by over a hundred low intensity replicas was felt in the Brazilian northeastern state of Ceará, according to Brazilian Civil Defence.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Limited reopening of EU market for Brazilian beef

The European Union said Friday it will allow some Brazilian farms to export beef to Europe again, ending a month long freeze over animal disease concerns. A total of 106 farms meet EU health standards, thus reopening trade between Brazil, the world's leading beef exporter, and its main market in Europe.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Relief in Brazil: loss of “state secrets” was petty theft

Brazilian officials said petty theft and not corporate espionage was responsible for the disappearance of computers with highly sensitive information on recently discovered oilfields, which could make Brazil a hydrocarbons powerhouse.
Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Bolivia bitterly divided over constitutional vote

A bitterly divided Bolivian Congress on Thursday approved a May 4 referendum on President Evo Morales' proposed constitutional review, which would grant greater political power to Bolivia's long-oppressed indigenous groups and greater government intervention in the economy.