Stories for March 2013

Wednesday, March 27th 2013 - 07:57 UTC
Francis scheduled to visit Argentina, Chile and Uruguay next December

Pope Francis is scheduled to make his first official visit to Argentina, where he was born, next December ‘to be close to his fellow compatriots’, according to ecclesiastic sources in Buenos Aires. The visit in the first half of December could extend to neighbouring Uruguay and Chile.
Wednesday, March 27th 2013 - 07:53 UTC
YPF and US based DOW sign memorandum to develop shale gas in Patagonia

Argentina’s nationalized energy company YPF on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the local subsidiary of the US Dow Chemical to develop the shale gas deposits in the southern Nequen province.
Wednesday, March 27th 2013 - 07:46 UTC
‘Olympic’ embarrassment for Brazil which is forced to close indefinitely major stadium

A stadium in Brazil that was due to host athletics at the 2016 Olympics has been closed indefinitely because of structural problems with its roof. The Joao Havelange stadium in Rio de Janeiro was built only six years ago. It was also being used as the main football venue in Rio, while the city's Maracana stadium is being renovated for next year's World Cup.
Wednesday, March 27th 2013 - 07:39 UTC
Falklands ‘Counter Strike’ online game has ‘British terrorists’ eliminated by ‘Argentine patriots’

An Argentine company has developed a map for the popular online game Counter Strike in which players fight British “terrorists” on the Falkland Islands. The setting created by Dattatec.com has clocked more than 9,000 downloads in a few hours, after “going viral”.
Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 22:44 UTC
March-bonus for 7 million low income Chileans, handout in presidential election year

Chilean president Sebastian Piñera signed this week a bill which grants a special ‘March-bonus’ to low-income families and is extensive to seven million people. Each beneficiary will receive the equivalent of 85 dollars which will represent for the Treasury an outlay of 208 million dollars.
Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 21:55 UTC
Argentina’s tax office targets main grain exporters; demands 951 million dollars in alleged arrears

Cargill Inc. and Bunge Ltd. are among grain exporters that allegedly owe the Argentine government 951 million dollars in taxes and won’t be eligible for a reduced interest rate under a payment plan unveiled by the government this week.
Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 21:33 UTC
Setback in New York court for Argentina’s strategy in its battle with bond holdouts

A US court in New York on Tuesday rejected Argentina's request for a full-court rehearing of an appeal it lodged as it struggles to shake off holders of 1.3 billion dollars in defaulted bonds.
Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 21:08 UTC
Paraguay does not accept Venezuela as the next chair of Mercosur

Paraguay, suspended from Mercosur and Unasur since last June rejected point-blank the possibility that Venezuela takes the chair of the regional trade group as of next June during the summit scheduled to take place in Uruguay.
Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 20:35 UTC
Cyprus aftermath: Germans fear about their savings accounts despite ‘Euro-supreme’ Merkel

A majority of Germans doubt Chancellor Angela Merkel's guarantee that their savings accounts are safe, an opinion poll published by Stern magazine and RTL TV showed, six months before the federal election.
Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 20:25 UTC
Malvinas: first time Latam groups at UN work together in support of Argentina’s claim

Regional groups from South America for the first time are working together on the Malvinas question at the United Nations in support of Argentina’s claims, said the Peruvian delegate on Tuesday, something which he described as “very positive”.