Mercosur

• Sunday, March 18th 2012 - 19:55 UTC

  “The Argentine government doesn’t understand what is going on” says former official

  

  Former Argentine Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernández assured on Sunday today that “the Government has difficulties understanding what is going on, and gives fallacious speeches that are far from reality,” and blasted the cutback of subsidies on public services and the bill that seeks to reform the Central Bank's charter

• Sunday, March 18th 2012 - 19:53 UTC

  Top executives from Chevron barred from leaving Brazil because of oil spills case

  

  A Brazilian court barred 17 executives from Chevron and Transocean from leaving Brazil, pending criminal charges related to a high-profile oil spill last November. A second oil spill detected last week further complicated the situation.

• Sunday, March 18th 2012 - 19:48 UTC

  Unasur supports Argentine Malvinas and call on UK to resume negotiations

  

  Foreign ministers from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) reaffirmed their support for Argentina over the Malvinas Islands sovereignty dispute at the annual meeting held in Asunción, Paraguay.

• Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 07:21 UTC

  YPF is an Argentine asset run by Spanish investors, De Vido tells Madrid

  

  Argentine Planning Minister Julio de Vido lashed out at Spanish Industry Minister José Manuel Soria by saying that oil company YPF is an Argentine corporation run by Spanish investors and should not be considered an asset of the European country.

• Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 06:13 UTC

  EU/Mercosur will exchange market access proposals when Brazil chairs the round

  

  The European Union and Mercosur concluded Friday in Brussels the eighth round of negotiations for a free trade agreement with the commitment to begin exchanging market access proposals at the next meeting.

• Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 06:10 UTC

  US confirms ‘neutral position’ in Falklands’ dispute; hopes for cooperation on practical issues

  

  United States stated that it maintains its “neutral position” over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands dispute between Argentina and UKand hopes for an agreed solution, an official source of the US government assured after the three day visit of British Prime Minister David Cameron which included several meetings at the White House

• Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 06:07 UTC

  Argentina/Israel honour victims of 1992 terrorist attack and accuse Iran

  

  Argentina and Israel gathered on Friday to honour the 29 victims of the 1992 terrorist car bombing at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, the first of two deadly attacks against Jewish interests in Argentina. The second in July 1994 against the Jewish community organization AMIA claimed 85 lives.

• Saturday, March 17th 2012 - 06:01 UTC

  EU ministers agree to free trade pact with Colombia and Peru

  

  EU trade ministers agreed on Friday to approve a free trade pact with Colombia and Peru that could boost European car and chemical exports and lift food and mineral exports from the South American countries.

• Friday, March 16th 2012 - 19:05 UTC

  Falklands tells Argentina latest intimidation and bullying efforts are entirely counter-productive

  

  The elected government of the Falkland Islands said on Friday it regrets the latest attempt by the Argentine government to economically undermine the Islanders way of life, which is yet another example of intimidation and bullying towards a country of 3.000 people.

• Thursday, March 15th 2012 - 02:52 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez censors television program; former CNN reporter privileged witness

  

  A former CNN in Spanish journalist Alberto Padilla was a privileged witness of censorship in Argentina, minutes before he was to be interviewed by a television channel in Buenos Aires: “the order to stop the program came directly from (Federal planning) minister De Vido”.