Mercosur

• Thursday, September 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Accelerated depletion rate of Greenland's ice sheet

  The Greenland ice sheet - which holds 70 percent of the world's fresh water - is shedding ice at an accelerating pace, according to a study released this week.

• Thursday, September 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  “Coca leaves made me president” Morales tells UN

  “The fight for coca leaves took me to the presidency”, said Bolivian president Evo Morales in a passionate address Wednesday to the United Nations General Assembly in defense of the centuries old coca culture of the Andean highlands peoples.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia and Venezuela, military cooperation agreement

  President Evo Morales has announced plans to build three military bases with Venezuelan assistance along Bolivia's eastern borders with Brazil and Paraguay, where more than 2,000 elite troops will receive advanced training.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  “Divisions threaten world”

  UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a farewell address to global leaders yesterday, depicted a world divided by an unjust economy, contempt for human rights and a failure to make peace in the Middle East.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed leaves rates unchanged but “inflation risks remain”

  The Federal Open Market Committee decided Wednesday to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 5.25% reflecting the reduced impetus from energy prices and contained inflation expectations.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner in UN calls for Falklands sovereignty talks

  Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner claimed before United Nations that Britain has been remissive in complying with the mandates of the General Assembly for the resumption of sovereignty talks on the Falkland Islands.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez rails at 'devil' Bush in UN address

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called George W. Bush “the devil himself” at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, saying the U.S. president had left the smell of sulphur hanging in the chamber from his appearance the previous day.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  China's “positive” impact on Latinamerica

  China's soaring economy has been “most positive” for Latinamerican exports even when some specific sectors have suffered, claims a paper from the World Bank released in Singapore.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  With spring bloom come El Niño and deadly algae

  Chilean investigators warned this week that temperatures in Chile's coastal waters have increased by half a degree since August, setting the stage for the arrival of “El Niño” by the end of this year.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Housing slump expected to leave Fed rate unchanged

  House construction in United States dropped 6% in August while producer prices rose by just 0.1% following on moderate energy costs.