Stories for September 23rd 2010

Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 04:56 UTC
Obama promises to revamp US foreign policy; helping poor countries is “national interest”

President Barack Obama has told the UN a revamped US foreign aid policy will help lift nations out of poverty by focusing on good governance and encouraging trade and investment.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 04:51 UTC
Argentina ignores Paraguay; builds new canal to pump water from shared river

Landlocked and Mercosur member Paraguay will formally complain to its peer Argentina the non consulted and unilateral decision to build a canal adjacent to a shared river that acts as a natural border and provides both sides’ agriculture and ecosystems with a vital water supply.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 04:43 UTC
China and Peru top world list of fish tonnage caught, says National Geographic

China leads the world in tonnage of fish caught annually as well as the amount of fish consumed, according to new findings reported in National Geographic magazine.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 04:04 UTC
Argentine main business sectors reject unions’ supervised profit-sharing bill

Argentina leading business associations representing agriculture, industry, banking and construction sectors rejected point blank the bill out lined by a Kirchnerite lawmaker for the distribution of company profits among workers and employees.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 02:02 UTC
Chavez set to win Sundays’ legislative election: question is the day after?

The Venezuelan opposition is certain to make gains in Sunday’s legislative elections but not enough to wrest legislative control from President Hugo Chavez in the 12th year of his socialist “revolution”.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 02:01 UTC
Head of the US 700 billion USD bail-out program steps down

The US Treasury Department official in charge of overseeing the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp) is stepping down. Herb Allison said that he was resigning now that the US bail-out programme was winding down.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 00:44 UTC
Lula’s attacks on the press “dangerous” and has him “on track with Chavez”

President Lula da Silva’s comments on freedom of the press are “something dangerous” and put him on the tracks of “Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez” said the president of the Inter-American Press Association (SIP), Alejandro Aguirre in an interview published in Brazilian newspaper O'Globo.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 00:25 UTC
Singapore based group takes over New Zealand dairy farms in Uruguay

Singapore-based Olam International has successfully gained control of NZX-listed NZ Farming Systems Uruguay. As part of the takeover bid Olam offered 70c a share for all shares, valuing NZ Farming Systems at 171 million NZ dollars, conditional on getting more than half the shares.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 00:22 UTC
Cuba props foreign investment projects and fires basic industry minister

President Raul Castro sacked his energy and resources minister, the last remaining minister from his brother Fidel cabinet. Minister for basic industry, Yadira Garcia, was fired late Sunday for “shortcomings,” specifically exerting “weak control over resources set aside for investment and production,” an official declaration read on state television said.
Thursday, September 23rd 2010 - 00:16 UTC
EU confident of a trade deal with Mercosur; talks next month in Brussels

In anticipation of a new round of Mercosur/European Union trade talks to take place in Brussels, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht confirmed he remained hopeful a deal could be struck in the coming twelve months, following the recent experience with South Korea.