Stories for February 4th 2011

Friday, February 4th 2011 - 23:29 UTC
Armoured helicopter to combat organized crime in Rio do Janeiro

The Brazilian city of Rio do Janeiro, host of the Olympic Games in 2016 presented on Friday its new weapon to combat organized crime and drug dealers that have control over urban shanty towns: an armoured US manufactured Bell Huey II helicopter which can transport 13 troops and two crew members.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 23:13 UTC
Paraguay recovers full status of free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination

Paraguay recovered full status of “country free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination” following the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) decision to lift the “high vigilance zone” over 1.2 million cattle.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 22:28 UTC
Brazil preparing package to counter surging imports rapidly eroding trade surplus

Brazil’s trade surplus fell more than economists expected in January from a month earlier as exports declined at a faster pace than imports. The surplus narrowed to 424 million USD last month from 5.37 billion in December, said the Trade Ministry.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 22:22 UTC
Brazil’s industrial output fell in December for second month running

Brazil’s industrial output unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in December. Output in December fell 0.7% from November after a 0.2% decline in the previous month, the national statistics agency IBGE said this week.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 22:06 UTC
MV Polar Star passengers transfer to three cruises; expected Sunday in Ushuaia

Passengers from the MV Polar Star, which suffered a minor incident while cruising along the Antarctica peninsula, were expected to arrive in Ushuaia, Argentina, on Sunday, February 6, 2011.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 21:53 UTC
Argentina still haunted by the holdouts from the 2001 default

Argentina’s attempts to return to global credit markets nine years after its 2001/02 default received this week mixed results. New York Federal Judge Thomas Griesa has issued a ruling urging Argentina to pay 54.33 million Euros (US$75.1 million) to the Capital Ventures International Fund.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 21:21 UTC
Rousseff and Obama to discuss ways to counteract China’s undervalued Yuan

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will discuss with her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama ways to counteract the threat posed by an undervalued Yuan and cheap imports from China, a Brazilian official said.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 21:17 UTC
US recovery still needs help for stronger job creation, says Bernanke

The US economic recovery still needs help from the Federal Reserve despite signs of improvement, the central bank's chairman Ben Bernanke said.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 21:11 UTC
Massive blackout in Brazil exposes vulnerability of energy infrastructure

A widespread blackout hit at eight states in Brazil's northeast Friday exposing energy infrastructure vulnerabilities of the nation that will host an Olympics and a World Cup.
Friday, February 4th 2011 - 21:07 UTC
France and FAO call for greater regulation to curb commodities speculation

France and the U.N. food agency FAO warned on Friday about the risk of a new global food crisis and ensuing riots, calling for greater regulation to curb speculation on commodities markets.