Stories for July 1st 2011

Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:39 UTC
Philip Morris launches legal action against Australia; similar to Uruguayan case

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International launched legal action this week against the Australian government over the country's plans to strip company logos from cigarette packages and replace them with grisly images of cancerous mouths, sickly children and bulging, blinded eyes.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:29 UTC
Australian MPs plant to limit purchase of prime farmland by foreigners

Australian lawmakers are demanding a review of foreign investment rules to stop foreign mining companies, including those from China, buying up prime farmland.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:23 UTC
EU farm budget frozen for next seven years and conditioned to ‘greening’

The European Union has published its long-awaited budget, which will see spending on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) frozen for the next seven years and make 30% of direct support conditional on ‘greening’.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:20 UTC
EU paymasters reject point blank proposal for a 5% budget hike

The European Commission’s request for a 5% hike in member states’ contributions in the next EU budget met immediate resistance from big countries such as Germany, France and Britain yesterday.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 03:26 UTC
Chávez from Cuba tells Venezuela he is undergoing cancer treatment

Doctors detected and removed a cancerous tumor from Hugo Chavez's body, the Venezuelan president announced in a speech broadcast on state-run VTV Thursday night.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 03:14 UTC
Brazil exceeds primary budget surplus target and keeps net debt under control

Brazil’s primary budget surplus exceeded expectations in May, providing additional support for the central bank in its efforts to cool the fastest inflation since 2005. The bank also revealed that net debt for May was 39.8% of GDP.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 02:03 UTC
Brazilian judge approves first gay marriage in the country

A Brazilian judge approved what is considered to be the country’s first gay marriage. Sao Paulo state Judge Fernando Henrique Pinto ruled on Wednesday two men could convert their civil union into a full marriage.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 01:48 UTC
Brazil and Japan allege over 100 countries support UN Security Council reform

Foreign Affairs ministers from Brazil and Japan announced that over 100 nations have expressed support for a proposal to expand the United Nations Security Council.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 01:45 UTC
Argentina votes compensation for victims of attack on Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires

Relatives of victims of the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires will receive compensation from Argentina.
Friday, July 1st 2011 - 01:38 UTC
Beijing-Shanghai high speed train link begins commercial operations

High speed trains linking Beijing and Shanghai made their commercial debut on Thursday on a 33 billion US dollars track China hopes will open a new page to the country’s rail history and help ease its overloaded transport system.