Mercosur

• Sunday, December 3rd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  New sun-protection pill arrives in Chile

  A new kind of sun protection has arrived in Chile, in the form of capsules that can be taken orally once a day to increase the skin's tolerance to ultraviolet (UV) rays. The pill, called “Tan Optimizer,” is now available in Chile's pharmacies.

• Sunday, December 3rd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Pinochet momentarily “stable and in good condition”

  Former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet suffered a heart attack on Sunday and has undergone a bypass operation which his son said brought him back from the brink of death. Pinochet was rushed to a military hospital in the Chilean capital Santiago around 2 a.m. (0500 GMT).

• Sunday, December 3rd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Chavez with significant lead in vote count

  Polls officially closed Sunday in Venezuela's presidential race in which left-wing populist Hugo Chavez was widely expected to win re-election to a six-year term.

• Saturday, December 2nd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine de-mining monitors arrive Saturday in Falklands

  On Saturday two Argentine retired military officers will arrive in the Falkland Islands to participate in a field survey related to the mines clearance feasibility study agreed between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

• Saturday, December 2nd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Sterling closing in on US$2 mark

  Sterling moved tantalizingly close to the US$2 level yesterday after the pound hit a 14-year high for a second day against a battered dollar, as the prospect of a narrowing US interest rate gap haunted the greenback.

• Saturday, December 2nd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Paraguay: Killers of kidnapped of daughter of former president sentenced

  A court on Friday sentenced two leaders of a radical leftist group to 25 years in jail for the kidnapping and murder of a former president's daughter, a spokeswoman said.

• Saturday, December 2nd 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina: First ever Rural Society strike

  The Argentine Rural Society announced yesterday that it is joining the week-long lockout that begins midnight tonight that has been called by two of the country's major farming organizations.

• Friday, December 1st 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Calderón between the devil and the deep blue see.

  Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who took office on Friday, faces a tough challenge to ensure governability, caught between a party which accuses him of stealing the election and another one which would make him pay very dearly its eventual support.

• Friday, December 1st 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Mexican President Takes Office Amid Protests

  Felipe Calderon took charge of Mexico's presidential residence Friday in an unusual midnight ceremony, getting a head start on opponents trying to block his inauguration.

• Friday, December 1st 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  International oil market in reshuffling process

  Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries president Edmund Daukoru said Friday that the group is likely to cut production by at least half a million barrels a day. The specific amount will be decided at the OPEC meeting next December 14th in Nigeria.