Mercosur

• Sunday, August 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine trawler catches fire and sinks: two missing

  An Argentine flagged trawler which caught fire and was being towed to Comodoro Rivadavia went down Friday with two seamen unaccounted for, reports the Argentine Coast Guard.

• Sunday, August 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Severe delays and flights' cancelling in Heathrow

  Stringent security searches which have led to long delays and cancellations at London's Heathrow are not sustainable, airport operator BAA has warned following complaints from airlines forced to cancel flights.

• Sunday, August 13th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Smoking ban in public places begins Monday in Chile

  As of next Monday Chile joins the public smoking ban debate with strict measures regulating “smoking” and “non smoking” areas in restaurants, pubs, shopping malls, theatres, cinemas and other closed spaces.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF describes Chile's performance “exemplary”

  The latest report from the International Monetary Fund describes Chile's economic and financial performance as “exemplary” and is full of praise with words such as successful, brilliant, prudent, transparent, strict and enviable.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  UN votes immediate cessation of Middle East hostilities

  The Security Council voted Friday night to halt the deadly conflict that has engulfed Lebanon and northern Israel for the past month, passing a resolution that calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by the deployment of Lebanese troops and a significantly expanded United Nations peacekeeping presence across southern Lebanon as well as the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the same area.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  US: “there's no figure in Cuba to match Fidel Castro”

  The United States top diplomat for Latin American affairs said that Fidel Castro's decision to “temporarily” hand over power to his brother after undergoing surgery indicates the Cuban leader's condition is “serious”.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Fresh fruit and vegetables five times a day

  Next Wednesday the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture will launch the “5 times a day” program targeted to fight obesity by promoting the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Low squid prices send Argentine jigger fleet back to port

  A drop in catches plus the halving of the international price for Illex squid forced most of the Argentine fleet of jiggers back to port virtually closing this year's season when the official scheduled date is August 31, reports the Argentine press.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  The growing power of Argentina's Kirchner

  Political virtuosity has enabled Argentine President Néstor Kirchner to increase his power over all government branches without transforming him into a Hugo Chávez look-alike, according to London-based international affairs publication The Economist.

• Saturday, August 12th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Ronaldinho joins UN fight against poverty

  Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, one of the world's best known sports figures, agreed to use his celebrity status to help the United Nations fight poverty when he was appointed UN Spokesperson for Sport for Development and Peace.