Stories for May 24th 2013

Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:50 UTC
Pacific Alliance agrees to eliminate tariffs for 90% of goods beginning July

The Alliance of the Pacific bloc that includes Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Chile on Thursday agreed to eliminate tariffs on most goods to promote free trade between the countries and increase exports to Asia.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:45 UTC
Toilet paper shortage is because ‘Venezuelans are eating more’ argues the government

A few hours after the Venezuelan congress voted a 79 million dollars credit for the import of 39 million rolls of toilet paper and other personal hygiene items, the government of President Nicolas Maduro said this was because “Venezuelans are eating more”.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:36 UTC
South America re-election rash: Ecuador’s Correa takes office for the third consecutive time

Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa will be inaugurated on Friday for his third consecutive mandate, something which Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez just managed before his death, and something which Bolivia’s Evo Morales aspires.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:30 UTC
Brazil’s Rousseff one of the main speakers at the African Union 50 year celebration

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff will be attending next Saturday in Ethiopia the fiftieth celebration of the African Unions Organization that preceded the African Union, (AU) and will be one of the main speakers on the opening day.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:23 UTC
British Overseas Territories tax havens hold £ 4 trillion, claims Oxfam

People using tax havens have deprived governments worldwide of £100 billion in revenue, enough to end extreme poverty twice over, according to new figures published by Oxfam. The total amount of lost tax revenue is far higher than £100 billion, as the figure only includes tax dodged by individuals, and not companies.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:10 UTC
As the US before IMF lines up behind Argentina in the litigation with hedge funds

For the first time since the litigation of hedge funds against Argentina the International Monetary Fund warned about the ‘risks’ which would entail ratifying Judge Thomas Griesa ruling condemning Argentina to pay over a billion dollars plus interests to the so called ‘vulture funds’.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 07:05 UTC
Argentina raids factory of US investor head of a hedge fund litigating defaulted sovereign bonds

Argentine authorities investigating alleged tax and currency exchange fraud searched this week the factory of a U.S. investor who is among litigants seeking hundreds of millions over Argentina's 2001 default.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 06:55 UTC
Former Ford executives charged in Argentina for human rights crimes

Three former Ford Motor Co. executives have been charged with crimes against humanity in Argentina for allegedly targeting union workers for kidnapping and torture after the country's 1976 military coup.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 06:51 UTC
Argentina’s trade surplus shrank 38% in April as imports soar 32%

Argentina's trade surplus shrank 38% in April from a year earlier to 1.15bn, revealed the national statistics institute Indec, indicating the government has significantly loosened restrictions on imports. A year ago the surplus was 1.85bn dollars.
Friday, May 24th 2013 - 06:46 UTC
Two suspects of the Buenos Aires AMIA bombing, presidential candidate in Iran

Two suspects in the bombing of the AMIA Jewish centre in Buenos Aires are candidates in Iran’s presidential election. Mohsen Rezai and Ali Akbar Velayati, who are believed to have planned the 1994 attack, were among the eight candidates approved for the June 14 election by Iran’s Guardian Council to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.