Stories for January 2014

Friday, January 17th 2014 - 06:30 UTC
Uruguay police officers training in 'restorative justice' methods in Cambridge

Fourteen police officers from Uruguay are currently attending courses at the Criminology Institute at Cambridge University, as part of their training for the country's Citizens' Security program, implemented with the support from the Inter American Development bank.
Friday, January 17th 2014 - 06:22 UTC
Mercosur summit suspended for the third time: mid February could be next date

Mercosur president’s summit was suspended on Thursday for the third time, due to agenda incompatibilities, Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga confirmed in Asunción. Earlier in the day, Loizaga met with Brazilian Foreign minister Luiz Alberto Figuereido. The meeting was going to take place in Caracas, on January 31.
Thursday, January 16th 2014 - 09:34 UTC
Argentine central bank reserves fall below the 30bn dollars threshold

Argentine central bank international reserves continued to erode and on Wednesday pierced through the 30bn floor threshold reaching 29.858bn dollars, the lowest level since November 2006. On Tuesday reserves stood at 30.019bn.
Thursday, January 16th 2014 - 09:28 UTC
Malvinas war veteran plans to visit Falklands cemeteries with a message from Francis

Pope Francis blessed crucifixes and rosaries which will be taken to the Argentine and British cemeteries in the Falkland Islands by an Argentine war veteran. The Pope during the blessings called for peace “among the peoples” of the world.
Thursday, January 16th 2014 - 09:22 UTC
US dollar reaches new record in Argentina, 11.25 Pesos

The US dollar in Argentina continued to climb on Wednesday and reached new highs both in the official market and in parallel trading or the 'blue market'. The official rate closed at 6.75 Pesos to the greenback while the 'blue' reached a record 11.25 Pesos (selling price) with a 66.5% gap between both markets.
Thursday, January 16th 2014 - 09:17 UTC
Brazil raised the benchmark rate to 10.5%: combating inflation the target

Brazil's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday to 10.50% from 10%, a larger-than-expected hike aimed at curbing inflation in spite of a weak economy. The decision by the bank's monetary policy committee, Copom, was unanimous.
Thursday, January 16th 2014 - 09:04 UTC
Open pit mining project in Uruguay questioned in Parliament and by environmentalists

A major open pit mining project in Uruguay to extract and export magnetite (a kind of iron ore) and which the government of President Jose Mujica plans to instrument this month has been exposed to a battery of criticism because the administration refuses to show the terms of the contract and farm groups argue there is no final environment impact assessment study.
Thursday, January 16th 2014 - 08:37 UTC
Falklands Daily Telegraph poll: majority of votes came from Argentina

The Daily Telegraph stated on Wednesday that two thirds of the votes in the Falklands/Malvinas poll came from Argentina. The British newspaper argued that the Argentine vote-flow followed “a social media campaign”.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 19:33 UTC
Second Brazilian airline promises to cap fares for the coming World Cup

Avianca Brasil has joined Azul in becoming the second Brazilian airline to promise to cap prices for the upcoming football World Cup, which opens June 12 in Sao Paulo. Avianca said it would match Azul and limit one-way fares to a maximum of 999 Reais (425 dollars).
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 19:29 UTC
GM will pay its first dividend since 2008; sales jump in China and United States

US carmaker General Motors (GM) said it will resume dividend payments, capping a remarkable turnaround since its 2009 bailout by the US government. It will pay a dividend of 30 cents per share, the first since July 2008.