Mercosur

• Tuesday, October 31st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Climate change will hit Latinamerica particularly hard

  Latinamerica will be particularly affected by the anticipated global climate change since the regional economy is highly dependent on natural resources according to a report by British economist Sir Nicholas Stern released this week.

• Tuesday, October 31st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula: party purge and no “major” cabinet reshuffle

  Brazilian re-elected president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva strongly defended “urgent changes” in the leadership of his Workers Party and answered criticisms from former president Fernando Enrique Cardoso who has promised “no truce” to the Brazilian president's second administration.

• Tuesday, October 31st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  No end in sight for Guatemala/Venezuela UN stalemate

  Guatemala and Venezuela's Foreign Affairs ministers are scheduled to meet Wednesday following another day of inconclusive voting on Tuesday which failed to choose who will be occupying the non permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia completes oil and gas nationalization

  Bolivian President Evo Morales completed his ambitious oil and gas nationalization plan early Sunday with the last-minute signing of contracts allowing several international companies to continue operating in the country under state control.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Magallanes with lowest unemployment in Chile: 4.3%

  Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile has retained the lowest unemployment mark with just 4.3% during the July-September quarter according to the latest report from the country's Statistics Office, INE.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Deafening NO in Misiones resounds in Buenos Aires

  The northern Argentine province of Misiones extended Sunday a resounding NO to the aspirations of an “indefinite or perpetual” re-election sponsored by Governor Carlos Rovira a strong ally of President Nestor Kirchner.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Re-elected Lula dreams with continental Mercosur

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who was re-elected Sunday with a landslide 61% said he dreams with a Mercosur which represents “all Latinamerican countries”.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  China announces cautious “floating” of the Yuan

  China will press ahead with changes to its foreign exchange rate mechanism giving a greater role to demand and supply plus liberating interest rates, announced Monday China's central bank.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile experiencing resurgence of national pride

  The old stereotype of Chile as a timid, conformist and morose nation will have to be revised, according to the latest Bicentennial Survey published by UC-Adimark. For the survey, 2,042 people over 18 were asked questions about topics such as national pride, emigration, and religion.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  China limits exports of energy intensive commodities

  China plans to increase taxes on exports of metals, oil and steel in an effort to contain excess investment in energy intensive industries, and simultaneously will reduce tariffs for the import of commodities reported the Finance Ministry in Beijing.