Stories for December 17th 2012

Monday, December 17th 2012 - 21:15 UTC
Brazil and Argentina bottom of the list in terms of competitiveness

Brazil ranks near the bottom among fourteen emerging powers in terms of competitiveness, due to high capital and labor costs as well as inadequate infrastructure, according to a study commissioned by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and published by the Folha de Sao Paulo daily.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 21:10 UTC
Chilean Justice Minister resigns over private universities accreditation scandal

Chile’s Justice Minister Teodoro Ribera resigned on Monday amid allegations he has ties to a former director of the country’s accreditation committee, or CNA, which improperly authorized some universities to operate.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 21:00 UTC
WWF blasts EU fishing quotas ahead of ministerial meeting

European ministers have approved the catching of millions more tons of fish than scientists have advised over the past nine years, a report has shown. Fisheries ministers, who meet annually to decide quotas for stocks across Europe, have only strictly followed scientific advice on fisheries in 13% of their decisions, the report by World Wildlife Fund, found.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 20:53 UTC
US consumer prices falls in November because of sharp drop in gasoline prices

US consumers prices fell in November due to a sharp drop in petrol prices, according to official figures, as inflation in the economy remained weak. The consumer price index fell 0.3% from October, the first decline since May, the US Labour Department said.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 20:48 UTC
Deadly clash trial that cost the president his job begins in Paraguay

Prosecutors in Paraguay have filed charges against 14 peasants allegedly involved in a land dispute which resulted in the killing of 17 people last June, six months ago. The charges range from murder to criminal association and land invasion.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 06:50 UTC
Paraguay’s next government ‘must debate on whether to remain or abandon Mercosur’

Foreign minister Jose Felix Fernandez Estigarribia said that Paraguay needs an open discussion on whether the country should remain or not in Mercosur, particularly since the issue has become extremely divisive. However the discussion must be addressed by the elected government that takes office in August 2013.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 06:45 UTC
Argentine frigate expected back in Buenos Aires early January

“Once more we fulfill our promise, the Frigate is coming back,” was the first statement given by President Cristina Fernández over the ruling of the UN's International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to release the ARA Libertad frigate.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 06:39 UTC
Ghana government to review ruling on immediate release of Argentine vessel

The Ghanaian government indicated on Sunday that it will review the recent ruling by the International Court for the Law of the Sea ordering the African nation to release the Argentine Navy Libertad frigate, which remains impounded there since October 2.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 06:29 UTC
In January begins third phase of Argentine landmine clearance in the Falklands

The third phase of explosive ordnance and landmine clearance in the Falkland Islands is scheduled to begin next January and extend until March 2013 and is programmed to concentrate in the surrounding of the capital Stanley.
Monday, December 17th 2012 - 06:23 UTC
HSBC Argentina also fined for failing to report suspicious transactions

Argentina slapped a 30 million Peso (6 million dollars) fine on a local subsidiary of global banking giant HSBC for failing to report suspicious transactions, authorities here said Sunday.