Mercosur

• Tuesday, August 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Trade common currency in Mercosur's agenda

  Mercosur and associate member countries Finance ministers are scheduled to meet next Friday in Rio do Janeiro to address among other issues the possibility of issuing a common trade currency, which would eventually replace the US dollar.

• Tuesday, August 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed does not discard further interest rates hike

  The Federal Reserve is not discarding further hikes of the basic interest rate in the months ahead because an important risk of inflation persists, according to minutes of the last meeting.

• Tuesday, August 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  NYT warns on the rich/poor split in Mexico

  Mexico's populist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador should end the protests and pledge to respect the Federal Electoral Tribunal's final decision which has until September 6 to make public the definitive results of the July 2 presidential election, says The New York Times.

• Tuesday, August 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine-Chilean controversy over tourism map

  An official Argentine map which allegedly includes a disputed border area in the Andes ice fields is turning into another controversial issue with neighbouring Chile which is claiming a rectification of the map.

• Monday, August 28th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina: Election date to stay where it is

  The government of President Nestor Kirchner is not planning to bring next year's presidential elections forward, Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernández said yesterday.

• Monday, August 28th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mega biosphere reserve in Patagonia

  Argentina and Chile agreed the creation in Patagonia of the first binational biosphere reserve in Latinamerica --pending UNESCO certification--, with a total area of 4.7 million hectares.

• Monday, August 28th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Peru/Colombia confirm closer links

  Peru and Colombia Foreign Affairs ministers reiterated in Lima their commitment to increase trade ties with Central America and helping Colombia become a full member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, APEC.

• Monday, August 28th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexico's electoral court ruling confirms Calderón

  Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal, Trife, rejected Monday claims that July 2 presidential election was riddled with fraud, virtually confirming Conservative Felipe Calderón from the ruling party as the country's next president.

• Monday, August 28th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Jimmy Carter calls Blair “subservient” to the White House

  Former US President Jimmy Carter accused Tony Blair on Sunday of being “subservient” to the White House, saying the British prime minister failed to constrain the George Bush administration on Iraq.

• Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Tropical Storm Ernesto gains strength.

  Ernesto's top winds reach 75 mph, making it the 2006 season's first hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center,while Debby has been downgraded to a tropical storm depression in the mid-Atlantic.