Mercosur

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 21:57 UTC

  Malvinas recovery for Argentina must become a “Chilean cause”, says former minister

  

  Chilean former Foreign Affairs minister and ambassador before the UN, Juan Gabriel Valdes has called for Chileans to adopt the Argentine sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands --disputed with the UK--, as a “Chilean cause”.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 21:09 UTC

  Falklands’ “black gold rush” means a decade of big money, with or without oil

  

  Thirty years after the Falkland Islands conflict, the South Atlantic Islands are the focus of a “black gold rush” as a string of exploration companies seek to be the first to find commercially viable reserves in the region, writes the London Express City & Business.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 15:42 UTC

  UK tells Mercosur it will resist any attempts to coerce the Falklands

  

  The British government said it would resist any attempts to coerce the Falkland Islands through economic or other pressures, and revealed it is holding ‘productive discussions’ with Uruguay, Chile and Brazil to ensure trade and commercial links between the Islands and South America are not compromised by political declarations.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 06:02 UTC

  Rockhopper ends Faklands’ 2010/11 exploration round with three oil discoveries

  

  Rockhopper Exploration announced Monday that it has completed its successful round of drillings in Falkland Islands waters with the Ocean Guardian rig.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 05:59 UTC

  Chile preparing forest restoration plan for ravaged areas of Torres del Paine Park

  

  As emergency workers finish extinguishing the last traces of fire in Torres del Paine National Park, now the Chilean government is beginning to look at the next critical phase in handling the disaster in Chile’s world-famous adventure destination.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 05:57 UTC

  Chilean per capita meat consumption has doubled in the last two decades

  

  In the last two decades Chileans consumption of different meats has doubled according to data from the Agriculture Policy and Studies Office, ODEPA, released this week. From the 39.6 kilos of 1991, meats consumption soared in 2011 to 84.2 kilos on average, and not taking into account fish and sea food.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 05:54 UTC

  FMD in Paraguay: 168 livestock sacrificed and major investigation into previous outbreak

  

  Paraguay veterinary services concluded Monday midday the termination of 168 livestock mostly belonging to a farm where an outbreak of foot and mouth disease was confirmed 2 January in the county of San Pedro to the centre north of the country.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 05:53 UTC

  Chavez and Ahmadinejad mock 'US imperialism' and joke about having an atomic bomb

  

  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez lavished each other with praise on Monday, mocked US disapproval and joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 05:51 UTC

  With October election in mind Chavez back on the air with “Alo Presidente” program

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez resumed on Sunday his weekly television and radio broadcast after a seven-month pause. Chavez's program, Alo Presidente, had been halted while he was receiving treatment for cancer.

• Tuesday, January 10th 2012 - 05:49 UTC

  Bush fires in Patagonian Chubut out of control; several towns evacuated

  

  Authorities from the Argentine Patagonia province of Chubut issued a red alert on the fires that affect forest areas and decided to evacuate El Hoyo town, while 40 Chilean fire-fighters were expected to arrive to the mountain region to help put out the bush fires.