Stories for April 2011

Friday, April 22nd 2011 - 05:05 UTC
Mercosur and South America, remain top priorities of Brazilian diplomacy

South American countries, particularly Mercosur members remain as top priority of Brazil’s foreign policy confirmed this week President Dilma Rousseff.
Friday, April 22nd 2011 - 04:59 UTC
Humpback whales return to Chilean waters; Punta Arenas planning watch-posts

Humpback whales, once hunted nearly to extinction, started returning to Chilean seas in the 1990s. By 2003 so many had appeared that Chile created a protected coastal area, Francisco Coloane with marine park in it to assure the whales would have the nutrients they need to thrive.
Friday, April 22nd 2011 - 04:51 UTC
Piñera accused of conflict of interest in Patagonian coal mine approval

Leading figures in Chile’s government were caught up in conflict of interest charges this week, with opposition Dep. Enrique Accorsi accusing President Sebastián Piñera and several of his cabinet ministers of “serious conflicts of interest” when they gave a green light to the Mina Invierno coal mine on Isla Riesco.
Friday, April 22nd 2011 - 04:48 UTC
Car companies comply with Argentina’s import/export balance policy

Argentina reached an agreement with the French conglomerate Peugeot-Citroen and the importers of Italy’s Alfa Romeo, to balance imports-exports value, following on Argentina’s latest regulations for the country’s auto industry.
Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 21:38 UTC
Fiat increases share in Chrysler to 46%; speculation on an eventual takeover

Italian carmaker Fiat says it has reached a deal to buy an additional 16% stake in Chrysler for 1.27bn US dollars. The move takes Fiat's stake in the US's third-largest carmaker to 46% and raises speculation about an eventual takeover this year.
Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 21:33 UTC
Turbulence from speeding motor boats kills zooplankton, reveals study

Turbulence generated by speeding motor boats kills significant numbers of zooplankton, a study has revealed for the first time. Experiments on copepods, tiny crustaceans that live and float in water, show that a third die in waters frequented by propeller-driven boats. That is significantly more than in bodies of water not used by boats.
Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 21:29 UTC
Brazilian company JBS dominates world beef industry from farm to fork

By Juan Forero, Thursday (The Washington Post)
The following piece is a brief history of a Brazilian family business which in a few decades, climbed aggressively to become the world’s largest provider of meat. The piece however, we believe, lacks reference to the Brazilian government’s strong financial support to these enterprises that become global corporations flying the green/yellow colours.
Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:59 UTC
Where’s the new blood? Cuban reforms to be implemented by the old guard

Cuba's Communist Party selected President Raúl Castro and hard-liners from the old guard to steer wide-ranging reforms of the island's crumbling economy. As expected, Raúl Castro, 79, was chosen at a four-day party congress to replace his older brother Fidel Castro as first secretary of the ruling party's Central Committee.
Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:57 UTC
IMF says the US lacks a credible plan to cut its deficit in the mid term

The United States lacks a credible plan to cut its deficit over the medium term, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard told French daily Le Monde in an interview published Wednesday.
Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:54 UTC
WTO Lamy launches ‘confessionals’ of hope to try and salvage the Doha Round

Pascal Lamy head of the World Trade Organization is holding talks to try and salvage the ailing Doha Round of trade liberalization talks that have been stalled for almost a decade.