Mercosur

• Friday, December 15th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  US/Venezuela address after-election “new reality”

  

  Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro met U.S. ambassador William Brownfield, seeking to ease years of diplomatic tension as President Hugo Chavez prepares to begin a second, six-year term.

• Thursday, December 14th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  “Fantastic” US/Argentina bilateral relations

  

  United States Under Secretary for Latinamerica Tom Shannon described US/Argentina relations are “fantastic” during a seminar where two former Latinamerican Foreign Affairs ministers criticized President Nestor Kirchner for his “left wing populism”.

• Thursday, December 14th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  EU leaders set to toughen membership conditions

  

  European leaders will seek to reassure sceptical voters at a summit starting on Thursday by toughening policy on enlargement of the European Union, without though slamming the door on a queue of aspiring nations.

• Thursday, December 14th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  IMF warns Latinamerica is lagging investment

  

  The International Monetary Fund, IMF said that higher levels of investment in Latinamerica can only be reached if several obstacles are tackled: a significant cut in current debt level; lower government expenditure; expansion of the taxable base and greater credibility for monetary institutions.

• Thursday, December 14th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Uruguay committed to Mercosur, but disputes persist

  

  Uruguay's Foreign Affairs minister Reinaldo Gargano said Uruguayan farmers are interested in remaining in Mercosur in spite of the growing difficulties to solve the asymmetries between big and small country members and bilateral disputes.

• Thursday, December 14th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Ban Ki-Moon sworn is as new UN Secretary General

  

  South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon was sworn in on Thursday, before the 192-member General Assembly, as the next United Nations Secretary-General while outgoing Kofi Annan who held the job for ten years was given a prolonged tribute.

• Thursday, December 14th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Lula da Silva officially inaugurates Mercosur Parliament

  

  Despite constant trade disputes Mercosur this Thursday found respite and motive to celebrate with the official inauguration of the block's Parliament in Brazil.

• Wednesday, December 13th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Pinochet mourners boo Chilean official

  Bitter divisions over the memory of Gen. Augusto Pinochet surfaced at his military funeral Tuesday, as mourners booed the defense minister who denied the dictator a state funeral and cheered Pinochet's grandson for justifying the bloody coup that ousted an elected president more than 30 years ago.

• Wednesday, December 13th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil: UN loads set help over 1000.000 poor people

  More than 100,000 poor Brazilians are expected to benefit from a United Nations-backed development and income-generating project in the semi-arid north-eastern region of Latin America's largest and most populous country.

• Wednesday, December 13th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Ence relocates pulp mill and pickets “take” Buenos Aires

  Tuesday was Argentina's turn to score in the escalating controversy over the building of pulp mills on the Uruguayan side of a river that acts as a natural divide between the neighboring countries and which has triggered ongoing protests from Argentine residents and environmentalists.