Stories for July 31st 2013

Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:14 UTC
UN calls on Chile to stop using anti-terrorism law against indigenous Mapuches

A United Nations investigator on Tuesday urged Chile’s government to stop using an anti-terrorism law against Mapuche Indians who are fighting to recover their ancestral land.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:09 UTC
Ecuador’s Correa pondering whether to join Mercosur or the Pacific Alliance

President Rafael Correa said that the determining factor for Ecuador to join as full member of Mercosur or the Alliance of the Pacific is the ‘flexibility’ granted in certain admission conditions, taking into account the fact that Ecuador does not have a national currency.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:00 UTC
Brazil’s next soybean crop expected to increase 9% to a record 89.1 million tons

Brazil’s 2013/14 soybean crop that starts planting in September is expected to grow by 9% under normal weather conditions to a record 89.1 million tons, local crop analyst AgRural said in a release.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:54 UTC
FAO calls for withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides in developing countries

The tragic incident in Bihar, India, where 23 school children died after eating a school meal contaminated with monocrotophos, is an important reminder to speed up the withdrawal of highly hazardous pesticides from markets in developing countries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:49 UTC
In Mexico, Latam second largest economy over half the are catalogued as poor

Poverty in Mexico, including extreme cases, decreased slightly between 2010 and 2012, reported the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy. Official stats show that poverty in Mexico, Latam’ second largest economy went from 46.1% of the population in 2010 to 45.5% in 2012, while extreme poverty fell from 11.3% to 9.8%.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:43 UTC
Assange criticizes Pte Manning’s conviction as a ‘dangerous precedent”

Julian Assange, founder of the anti-secrecy organisation Wikileaks, has said the conviction of US Army Private Bradley Manning on spying charges is a “dangerous precedent”.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:35 UTC
Falklands' Sea Lion project outstands in Premier Oil exploration opportunities

Premier Oil, the British North Sea's oldest company outside the oil majors, is turning away from the region for future exploration opportunities such as the Catcher and the Sea Lion project in the Falkland Islands, according to a report published by Reuters.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:26 UTC
Canadian town evicts oil sands companies that helped it grow

The Canadian town of Fort McMurray, population 76,000, is the heart of Alberta's oil sands largesse--but the town is bursting at its seams with nowhere to expand because the land surrounding it is owned by oil companies.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:12 UTC
Insulza meets Hague and presents report on the Drug Problem in the Americas at Chatham House

Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, on Tuesday presented in London the Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas during a forum organized by Chatham House in which political authorities and experts in the issue took part.
Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 05:05 UTC
UK plans to expand education-exports industry and attract 90.000 extra overseas university students by 2018

An ambitious strategy to expand United Kingdom’s education exports industry – revealed for the first time as worth £17.5 billion to the economy – has been published.