Stories for July 17th 2012

Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 23:40 UTC
South Korea scraps criticized ‘scientific’ plan to resume whaling

South Korea has decided to scrap its fiercely criticised plan to resume “scientific” whaling, apparently because of international pressure, a report said Tuesday.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 23:36 UTC
Argentine pro-government unions don’t trust Cristina’s stats and official inflation

Despite having managed to split organized labour and declared war on its most powerful exponent the teamsters boss Hugo Moyano, the government of Argentine president Cristina Fernandez still has to deal with its unconvincing stats office and rampant inflation.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 20:35 UTC
Uruguay’s 2011/12 rice harvest reaches 1.4 million tons with 7.850 kilos/ha yields

Uruguay’s area to be planted with rice in the coming 2012/13 season is estimated at 179.000 hectares, slightly down from the 181.400 of this year, according to the country’s Department of Agriculture Statistics (DIEA) and based on a poll following the 2011/12 harvest.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 20:13 UTC
Bernanke concerned with US economy but with no clues about what steps to follow

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday offered few new clues on whether the US central bank was moving closer to a fresh round of monetary stimulus, even as he underscored his concerns over the economy's weakness.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 19:49 UTC
Chilean village heartfelt thanks for Falklands support

The Chilean village of Lolol in the Colchagua region has sent its heartfelt thanks, in the form of a plaque, to the people of the Falklands and the Chilean Community in the Islands for their very generous support following the devastation of buildings in the area as a result of the earthquake in 2010.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 19:37 UTC
Three Paraguayan abattoirs cleared to export boneless beef to Israel

Three Paraguayan abattoirs have been re-licensed by Israel to export boneless beef, according to the Paraguayan Rural Association, ARP, based on information from the country’s livestock and food sanitary services, Senacsa.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 19:27 UTC
HSBC grilled in US Senate for lax controls enabling billions of money laundering

The CEO of the U.S. division of the big international bank HSBC is apologizing for lax controls that lawmakers say allowed Mexican drug cartels to launder billions of dollars through the US operation and many other illicit transactions for years.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 19:21 UTC
YPF contracting “outstanding professionals” to develop technology department

Argentina’s nationalized oil and gas corporation YPF announced the incorporation to its staff of two “outstanding professionals” for its technology department, Bernard Gremillet and Gustavo Bianchi, which at some time belonged to the company but had left for personal reasons.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 19:07 UTC
Mexican group sells 15 Caesar Park hotels in South America to French operator

Mexican hotel operator Grupo Posadas said Monday it reached an agreement to sell its properties and management contracts in South America to French hospitality company Accor for 275 million dollars.
Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 18:27 UTC
MEP's surprised at Mercosur and Unasur drastic decisions on Paraguay

The European lawmakers’ delegation said it was surprised with the drastic and quick determinations, with no right to defence or appeal, decided against Paraguay by Mercosur and Unasur, said Paraguayan Foreign Minister Jose Felix Fernandez Estigarribia, following a meeting in Asuncion with the visiting MEPs.