Mercosur

• Saturday, October 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine pickets block bridges linking with Uruguay

  In spite of the Argentine government warnings and last minute efforts, early Friday afternoon pickets from Entre Rios province cut the access to two international bridges linking Argentina with Uruguay to protest the construction of pulp mills on the Uruguayan side.

• Saturday, October 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  U.N. set to elect new non-permanent members

  The United Nations General Assembly will hold elections on Monday morning to choose five non-permanent members of the Security Council to serve two-year terms starting on 1 January 2007.

• Friday, October 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  “Express” China forecasted to keep growing above 10%

  China's Academy of Social Sciences forecasts that China's economy will expand 10.5% this year and 10.1% in 2007, reports the Chinese agency Xinhua.

• Friday, October 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  US trade deficit hits new monthly record

  The United States trade deficit hit a record 69.9 billion US dollars in August owing to a surge in imports of Chinese goods and expensive oil, reported the Commerce Department.

• Friday, October 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile advances clocks 60 minutes Sunday

  Chile will put forward clocks sixty minutes beginning next Saturday October 14th at 24:00 hours.

• Friday, October 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  High class dinning out: two for one in New York

  Dining out in New York continues to be cheaper than in Tokyo, London or Paris, in spite of the fact that an average meal in one of the Big Apple's restaurants has risen 5% between 2005 and 2006.

• Friday, October 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Pull mills dispute: Argentina warns picketers

  The Argentine government openly disagreed with pickets blocking bridges leading to Uruguay and said picketers will be responsible for any damages the protests could cause to Argentina's strategy in the pulp mills conflict with Uruguay.

• Thursday, October 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay wants urgent action to stop roadblocks

  The Uruguayan government yesterday criticized the decision by Argentine environmentalists to once again block roads linking the two countries in protest over the construction of two pulp mills and urged a swift response from the government of President Kirchner.

• Thursday, October 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile joins the world's annual Oktoberfest

  Chile this past Saturday joined with countries around the world to begin the annual celebration of Oktoberfest.

• Thursday, October 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Siemens to build two thermoelectric plants in Argentina

  Argentina awarded German engineering conglomerate Siemens a contract to build two thermoelectric plants at a cost of about one billion US dollars, said a press officer at the Planning Ministry in Buenos Aires.