Argentina

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 06:20 UTC

  Trade in local currencies and tariffs on the Mercosur agenda for discussion

  

  Argentina Economy Minister Amado Boudou said that the idea of appealing to an only shared currency by Mercosur members generates ‘doubts’ given the European experience, and feels more inclined ‘to stimulate trade with local currencies”, so that each member country can take advantage of monetary policy macroeconomic instruments.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 06:13 UTC

  Argentine Supreme Court rules in favour of pension benefits for same-sex couples

  

  The Argentine Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex partners seeking pension benefits. The ruling came after the highest court reversed a previous ruling neglecting a man of any pension benefits after the demise of his partner, whom he had shared his life with for over 40 years.
  Judges said that “the current pensions’ law cannot ignore situations like these.”

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 03:57 UTC

  Argentina asks Mercosur to draft an industrial policy and contain Asian imports

  

  Mercosur Ministers of Industry meeting in Paraguay, ahead of the presidential summit, discussed on Tuesday different mechanisms to weaken the flood of ‘cheap’ manufactured goods from Southeast Asia.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 03:53 UTC

  Mercosur ‘structural convergence fund’ has distributed 1.1bn USD in 37 projects

  

  Mercosur structural convergence fund, Focem, which was created in 2005, has distributed 1.1 billion US dollars among its full members for the implementation of 37 projects basically to improve roads for inter-region and international trade, according to official figures released in Asunción.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 16:32 UTC

  Argentina promises to end fluvial obstacles to land-locked Paraguayan trade

  

  Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman in Asuncion for the Mercosur summit promised on Tuesday Argentina will put an end to fluvial obstacles to Paraguayan trade. Landlocked Paraguay trades with the rest of the world through the Parana River, most of which crosses Argentine territory.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 06:12 UTC

  Mercosur summit begins Tuesday among controversy over its effectiveness

  

  The Mercosur summit will be an opportunity to solve asymmetry problems and social inequalities in the region, said Paraguay’ Foreign Affairs minister Jorge Lara Castro. The South American customs union is meeting this week in Asuncion for the first of two annual summits when the rotating chair will be passed on to Uruguay.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 04:41 UTC

  Falklands/Malvinas: Argentina condemns UK “militaristic regrettable statements”

  

  The verbal escalation between the Argentine and British governments in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands sovereignty issue continued Monday with strong exchange of statements.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 18:36 UTC

  UK committed to Falklands in spite of all the “huff and puff” from Argentine politicians

  

  The UK remains committed to retaining sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the face of renewed Argentine pressure over the issue, and has the political will and military means to defend the Islands, Defence Secretary Liam Fox said.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 18:31 UTC

  Bus sized asteroid to zoom over the Falklands’ at 7.600 miles in space

  

  An asteroid the size of a bus and massing 600 tons is barreling through space toward planet Earth at terrific speed and is scheduled to zoom across the South Atlantic and the Falkland Islanders late Monday, reports Space magazine.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 06:24 UTC

  Parlasur member claims Mercosur summits have become ‘display of empty rhetoric’

  

  Mercosur summits have become a display of empty rhetoric, full of protocol and ‘family photos’ but with no full hearted willingness to achieve a solid, fair integration, claimed the head of the Paraguayan delegation before Parlasur, the Mercosur Parliament.