The extreme drought conditions which most of Argentina's rich farmland is suffering will have an impact on the soybean crop that is now estimated in the range of 40 million tons, down 16.7% from the previous crop according to the Argentine Association of Agriculture experimentation regional consortia, AACREA.
The Argentine government declared on Monday an agricultural emergency in areas affected by the worst drought to hit the country in four decades and which has extended to most of the country's farmlands.
Brazil announced it has imposed restrictions on 60% of imports to soften the impact of the global crisis in its trade balance which in the first four weeks of January has registered a totally unexpected deficit of 645 million US dollars.
Italy on Tuesday recalled its ambassador to Brazil for consultations in response to Brasilia's definitive decision to grant political refugee status to a convicted Italian terrorist.
Tens of thousands of anti-globalization activists gathered Tuesday in the north-eastern Brazilian city of Belem for the opening of the World Social Forum (WSF), finding solidarity under the slogan another world is possible.
International tourist arrivals in 2008 increased 2% over the previous year but with the advance of the global crisis the rate of growth in the second half came to a stand still and turned negative, a tendency which is expected to continue in 2009, --possibly between 0 and minus 2%--, according to the latest report form the World Tourism Organizations.
The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councilor Mavis Smitheman, bid farewell to the sailors of HMS Manchester on Monday as the ship departed on a seven-month deployment to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Lord Mayor sailed from Portsmouth on board HMS Manchester and has been given a full demonstration of the ship's capabilities prior to departing later today.
Bolivian president Evo Morales described as encouraging the congratulation message from President Barack Obama administration on Sunday's referendum for the approval of a new constitution, according to reports in the Cuban television.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says as many as 2.4 million Latin Americans could lose their jobs this year due to the global economic crisis.
Brazil has offered investments in Paraguay in exchange for not claiming a fair price and free availability of the surplus energy produced at South America's largest hydroelectric dam Itaipú shared by the neighbouring countries.