Stories for October 2013

Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 07:40 UTC
Pacific Alliance well ahead of Mercosur in the “Doing Business 2014” report

The World Bank's “Doing business 2014” report is not very encouraging for Latin-America with Chile the best ranked in position 34 out of 189 economies surveyed, but the group of countries that make up the Pacific Alliance again figures well ahead of Mercosur.
Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 07:33 UTC
Botnia/UPM conflict: Argentina retaliates against Uruguay with trade and port measures

Argentina has made public its first retaliation against Uruguay over the Botnia/UPM pulp mill controversy and has banned Argentine exports from being trucked to Montevideo for shipment overseas. The resolution was published Tuesday in the Official Gazette and invokes maritime transport agreements in the framework of Mercosur.
Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 07:29 UTC
Argentina expands political relationship and cooperation with the Caribbean

Argentina pledged to strengthen its relationship with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) saying that it was also looking to develop new areas of integration with the Caribbean under the paradigm of south-south cooperation, reports the Jamaica Observer from Georgetown Guyana.
Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 07:22 UTC
In a further step to normalize relations Paraguay names new ambassador to Venezuela

Paraguay has named veteran diplomat Enrique Jara as new ambassador in Venezuela, giving a further step towards the full normalization of relations that had been interrupted since July 2012 when the two countries expelled their respective accredited staff.
Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 07:13 UTC
Turkey opens railway tunnel linking the Asian and European continents

A railway tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait has been opened in Turkey, creating a new link between the Asian and European shores of Istanbul. The Marmaray tunnel is the world's first connecting two continents, and is designed to withstand earthquakes.
Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 07:05 UTC
Peru's Humala reshuffles cabinet and names fourth prime minister

Peru's Prime Minister Juan Jimenez said on Tuesday he is leaving President Ollanta Humala's government and that other cabinet changes will soon be announced by his successor - a local governor and former business manager.
Wednesday, October 30th 2013 - 06:57 UTC
Petrobras negotiating sale of assets in Peru to Chinese company for 2bn dollars

China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s largest oil producer, is nearing an agreement to buy Petrobras assets in Peru for more than 2 billion dollars. The proposed deal may be announced as soon as next month, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg.
Tuesday, October 29th 2013 - 18:26 UTC
Night of fury in Sao Paulo: 90 detained and scores of buses and trucks torched

One person was injured and 90 detained while trucks and buses were torched in Sao Paulo late Monday in renewed violence after police fatally shot a 17-year-old boy. A police statement said some of the rioters made use of firearms during the unrest and added that one pedestrian was injured during the shooting and rushed to hospital by police.
Tuesday, October 29th 2013 - 18:18 UTC
Brazil's Sports minister is not expecting protests during next year's World Cup

Brazil's sports minister Aldo Rebelo is not expecting waves of anti government protests during the World Cup next year arguing the Brazilian people will be more interested in celebrating the tournament than complaining about its cost.
Tuesday, October 29th 2013 - 16:37 UTC
Spying on your neighbor: Rousseff demands from congress urgent legislation

The US National Security Agency’s cyber spying on foreign heads of state from Angela Merkel to Dilma Rousseff is poised to produce its first high-profile corporate casualty: Google Inc.’s operations in Brazil.