Stories for August 17th 2010

Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 23:58 UTC
Colombian president, --temporarily--, rules out peace dialogue with guerrillas

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ruled out, for the time being, any possible dialogue with the guerrilla organizations and said he would abstain from naming a peace commissioner. At the same time he called on the armed forces to increase their efforts in combating terrorism.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 23:56 UTC
Latinamericans trust the media and the military, shows regional poll

The media and the Armed Forces are among the institutions most trusted in Latin America, well ahead of the church, parliament and political parties, according to a regional opinion poll from FLACSO, Latinamerican Social Sciences Faculty.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 19:27 UTC
South Sandwich Islands are the emergent tips of huge volcanoes, according to BAS

Earlier this year, geologists on the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) ship “RRS James Clark Ross” completed a project to map the sea floor around the volcanic South Sandwich Islands using multi-beam sonar. This completes a project started three years ago, reports the latest edition of the South Georgia newsletter.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:33 UTC
Poll confirms Brazilian incumbent presidential candidate Rousseff 11 points lead

Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff has an 11 percentage point lead over former Sao Paulo Governor Jose Serra before the country’s October elections, according to an Ibope poll published by TV Globo network and O Estado do Sao Paulo newspaper.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:26 UTC
Cristina has better image, but husband Nestor, “next presidential candidate”

Argentine president Cristina Kirchner has a better image but most interviews believe her husband Nestor Kirchner will finally be the incumbent presidential candidate in 2011, according to a public opinion poll undertaken by Poliarquía for Buenos Aires daily La Nación.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:22 UTC
Petrobras admits ‘minor’ conservation problems on several oil platforms

Brazil's government managed oil giant Petrobras CEO admitted Monday that minor conservation problems exist on some of the company's platforms in the Campos Basin, off the country's south-eastern coast.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:20 UTC
Chinese biggest state-owned bank raises 22 billion in initial public offering

Agricultural Bank of China raised a record 22.1 billion USD in its initial public offering (IPO) in July despite a lukewarm response when the shares first went on sale. The IPO is the last by China's four biggest state-owned banks.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:17 UTC
Tourists arriving in Argentina during June increased 29.7% over a year ago

The number of tourists that arrived in Argentina during June increased 29.7% compared to the same month last year, according to a government report.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:14 UTC
World Cup helped Magallanes region economy pick up in second quarter

Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile had a strong economic rebound in the first half of this year, boosted by the construction industry and retail sales, according to Chile’s National Statistics Office, INE.
Tuesday, August 17th 2010 - 09:09 UTC
“Miracle” in Colombia: Lightning downs aircraft: one dead, 114 injured

A Boeing 737-700 from Colombian air carrier Aires operating as Flight 8250 from Bogota Eldorado Airport to San Andres Island in the Caribbean split into three pieces on landing after being struck by lightning, according to statements from Colombia’s national police.