
Peru which currently holds the chair of Unasur, Union of South American Nations is promoting a new meeting of country members’ heads of state to address the political situation in Venezuela, Foreign minister Rafael Roncagliolo said on Thursday.

The production and sale of Argentine fruits and vegetables is beginning to rebound after a year in which the sector's problems continued to deepen; loss of competitiveness due to rising costs and lower demand, especially overseas because of the global economic crisis.

Argentina formalized on Thursday the call for this year's primary and legislative elections which will be held on 11 August and 27 October respectively and will see Argentines aged 16 vote for the first time.

A 31-yeaar old farm hand died and a 12-year old adolescent has been hospitalized in the province of Santa Fe following an outbreak of Argentine hemorrhagic fever (FHA) caused by the viral agent Junin and transmitted by camp mice.

President Nicolas Maduro said he was a ‘Kirchnerite president’ and the ‘second Peronist president’ of Venezuela during a political rally with Argentine trade unions and militant groups in a packed Buenos Aires stadium to recall the figures of the deceased Hugo Chavez and Nestor Kirchner.

The administration of President Cristina Fernandez sent on Wednesday to congress the tax amnesty bill to tap undeclared dollar assets, in the country and overseas, generating a cascade of critical reactions from well known economists while the ‘blue dollar’ in the parallel market seemed to ignore the announcements and kept climbing to a new record high.

Argentina Deputy Economy minister Axel Kicillof pledged “to look into” the growing parallel market for the US dollar because it is harming many innocent people who have nothing to do with speculation and claimed that ‘certain economists’ and media are encouraging speculation with the greenback.

Despite the tax amnesty bill and investment options pledged by the government of President Cristina Fernandez, the dollar kept climbing in Argentina. After breaking the key psychological barrier of 10 Pesos to the dollar on Tuesday, the blue dollar which trades on the parallel market climbed again on Wednesday another 37 cents to reach 10.45 Argentine Pesos.

“The Queen is not aware that we are in the XXIst century and she follows the colonialist tradition of the United Kingdom”, claimed Argentine Senator Daniel Filmus, the first reaction to the Queen’s strong message in support of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar right to determine their political futures.

By Harold Briley from London - The Falkland Islands and Gibraltar have been reassured by the British Government that it will protect their right to choose their own way of government. The pledge was contained in the Government’s programmer and new laws for the forthcoming session of Parliament, outlined in the traditional Queen’s Speech to both Houses of Parliament.