Mercosur

• Tuesday, October 9th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Banco del Sur will be launched on November in Caracas

  

  Seven South American countries agreed to establish Banco del Sur, a regional development bank championed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in an effort to expand regional trade and growth with their own resources.

• Tuesday, October 9th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Bachelet opens Latam-European social forum in Chile

  

  President Michelle Bachelet opened the 8th annual Biarritz Forum Monday with a speech urging unity across Chile's social and political sectors. The President welcomed business leaders and government officials from across Latin America and Europe to the annual conference, held this year at the Casa de Piedra in Santiago's Vitacura borough.

• Monday, October 8th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Costa Rica 'supports' controversial US trade deal

  

  Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias declared victory Sunday in his drive to join a free trade deal with the United States, announcing on television that voters had backed it in a referendum.

• Monday, October 8th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Greenspan says US economic growth slowing

  

  Alan Greenspan, who served for 19 years as chairman of the Federal Reserve and has made a new splash with a memoir critical of Republicans and the Bush White House for not getting better control over federal spending, says today that the odds of a recession in coming months are “less than 50-50”.

• Monday, October 8th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Region gives final touches to launching of Bank of the South

  

  Economy and Finance ministers from all South American countries, except for Peru and Colombia, are meeting Monday in Brazil to discuss final details of a regional development financial institution sponsored by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez.

• Saturday, October 6th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean icebreaker stationed in Punta Arenas

  

  Chile's Navy icebreaker “Almirante Viel” which is scheduled to be arriving at the end of the month, will be permanently stationed in Punta Arenas, reported this week Chilean naval authorities.

• Friday, October 5th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News update

  

  Headlines:
  New comms deal for Camp; Drilling agreement: 'biggest oil event in 10 years'; Royal Marines on Islands exercise; Men back in court today

• Thursday, October 4th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Arrest of Pinochet ring: in Chile “no one is above the law”

  

  President Michelle Bachelet called for calm and said “no one is above the law” in Chile following the indictment on Thursday on corruption charges of 23 people related to former dictator General Augusto Pinochet including his widow and five children.

• Wednesday, October 3rd 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile: Giant predatory Humboldt squid threatens hake

  

  An invasion of predatory Humboldt squid into northern Pacific waters is decimating hake catches in the Pacific Ocean, including along Chile's coast. This is the conclusion of an extensive study carried out over 19 years by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

• Wednesday, October 3rd 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Good prospects for Mercosur wheat, corn and soy crops

  

  Weather conditions are improving in Mercosur main farm areas helping advance optimistic prospects for the 2007/08 harvests. In Argentina the wheat crop is predicted to reach 14 million tons while corn and sunflower planted areas are expected to increase significantly.