The City of Buenos Aires put forth the steps to become 100% smoke-free, after amendments were made to the anti-tobacco laws, totally prohibiting the use of smoking areas in restaurants and bars in Argentina’s capital.
Uruguay’s central bank unexpectedly increased on Friday its benchmark interest rate by 75 points from 8% to 8.75%o as policy makers admit inflation, and mid term expectations remain notoriously over the target range and price stability is the main concern in “the current socio-economic context”.
Chile declared on Friday “catastrophe zone” the extreme south province of Ultima Esperanza where a forest fire, so far out of control, has ravaged over 9.000 hectares of pristine flora from the Torres del Paine national park.
Rockhopper Exploration, the oil and gas group working in the Falkland Islands announced on Friday it has completed coring and logging operations on a sidetrack of its latest well in the North Falkland Basin
No changes are needed in current legislation to bar vessels flying the Malvinas flag from entering Uruguayan ports, but Uruguay also speculates that if the vessels change to the English flag there will be no problems, according to a report from the Foreign Affairs ministry.
Ambassador Jorge Argüello arrived Thursday to Washington and immediately began activities as head of the Argentine embassy before the US with a first round of talks with members of his staff, according to a release from the embassy.
Lan Chile airlines admitted on Thursday before the Chilean Securities and Exchange Commission that the decision by the Argentina’s Civil Aviation authority, ANAC, to revoke Lan Argentina flight authorizations to Brazil, Paraguay and Chile from Buenos Aires metropolitan airport Jorge Newbery “would not have a relevant financial impact for Lan Airlines at consolidated level
“There are no contacts at all of any kind with the government, they have been all suspended” said on Thursday the Deputy Secretary of the Argentine powerful teamsters union Pablo Moyano when asked about current relations between organized labour and the administration of President Cristina Fernandez.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández had to postpone on Thursday plans to fly to Santa Cruz where she is planning to spend New Year’s Eve with her son and daughter, following an institutional crisis and street rioting that left at least 23 injured and the resignation of several top posts in the provincial administration.
Some 8 million people received emails from the New York Times on Thursday offering a special discount if they would reconsider their decision to cancel their subscriptions.