Mercosur

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 05:40 UTC

  Chile ranks last for income and education in OECD report

  

  Chile was ranked last for income, education and the quality of environment, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD report on well-being released Oct. 12.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 21:25 UTC

  Argentine president improving from hypotension bout resumes activities Thursday

  

  President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner showed “improvement” after suffering from a bout of hypotension Tuesday and will resume presidential activities as of Thursday, said doctors from the Government House.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 06:27 UTC

  S&P and Fitch downgrade main Spanish banks ratings on “dimmed” prospects

  

  Spanish banks including Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA had their ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s, which cited “dimming” growth prospects and “heightened” market turbulence.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 06:00 UTC

  Colombia supports Palestinian state, but insists negotiations with Israel are crucial

  

  Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas left Colombia empty-handed Tuesday after failing to secure support from President Juan Manuel Santos for his bid to gain state recognition at the United Nations.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 05:58 UTC

  Uruguayan president on ten-day European trade and business tour

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica left on Tuesday for a ten day visit to Europe that will take him to Sweden, Norway, Germany and Belgium, where he is expected to promote trade, investments and economic development.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 05:56 UTC

  Great moment for Latin America but “beware of complacency”

  

  Latin America is going through a “great moment” but can’t be complacent when the European Union and the US are facing major challenges, and the region must definitively address the large integration challenges, warned Enrique García, head of the Andean Promotion Corporation, CAF.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 05:54 UTC

  Mapuche Indians mourn the day Columbus set foot in the Americas

  

  More than then thousand people marched in the Chilean capital Santiago in support of the indigenous Mapuche people. The protest marked the 519th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, the start of the Spanish conquest.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 05:48 UTC

  Argentine president suspends activities because of low blood pressure

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner decided on Tuesday to cancel her attendance to a political rally due to a case of low blood pressure, her spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro announced.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2011 - 23:41 UTC

  Uruguay celebrated the bicentennial with a huge colourful popular party

  

  Uruguay celebrated Monday October 10 the bicentennial of its emancipation process with a great colourful, open party that attracted over 300.000 people to the streets and stages in the capital Montevideo.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2011 - 07:20 UTC

  Mercosur a ‘priority’ almost a ‘sanctuary’ for Brazilian trade and diplomacy

  

  Brazil is reinforcing its diplomacy’s legal and trade departments in anticipation of a major impact from a possible global situation and in this context “Mercosur is a priority, almost a sanctuary” announced Monday the Foreign Affaire ministry.