Mercosur

• Saturday, July 15th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Panamanians to decide in referendum Canal expansion

  Panama's Congress approved a five billion US dollars plan to widen the Panama Canal which will now face a binding referendum scheduled to be held later this year.

• Saturday, July 15th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina ends “fuel subsidy” to foreign cars

  Foreign vehicles loading fuel in Argentine gas stations along the border will have to pay the same prices as in their own countries, which is basically double the cost of gasoline and diesel in Argentina.

• Saturday, July 15th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina doubles price of gas pumped to Chile

  The Argentine natural gas pumped to Chile costs as of Saturday July 15 almost 100% dearer according to official sources in Buenos Aires, quoted by Clarin. The average price Chile has to pay is now between 3.2 and 3.4 US dollars per million BTU.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  International conflicts pushing oil closer to 80 US dollars

  Oil prices hit a new high closing price of 76.70 US dollars a barrel on Thursday as international tension heightened in several fronts with analysts not ruling out 80 US dollars a barrel in the coming days.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Storms kill 15 and leave Chile short of energy

  The storm of rain and wind that is ravaging central and southern Chile has left 15 people dead, six missing and 30.000 homeless according to the latest reports Thursday from the National Emergencies Office in Santiago.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bus burning rampage by criminal gangs in Sao Paulo

  Urban buses returned to the streets of Brazil's major city Sao Paulo late Thursday after having suffered violent attacks during three nights running and following guarantees of special protection from elected authorities and police forces.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Panda sanctuary and Tequila area in UN World Heritage sites

  Giant panda sanctuaries in China, a tequila-producing area in Mexico, a millennia-old irrigation system in Oman and renaissance palaces in Italy are among 18 new sites admitted to the World Heritage List of humanity's outstanding natural and cultural legacy, bringing to total to 830, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  South Indian Ocean Fisheries Accord

  Faced with a marked increase in fishing on the high seas, six countries have signed an agreement covering a vast area of the South Indian Ocean in what a United Nations official has hailed as a major step forward in conservation and sustainable fishing.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  89% of Chileans feel they will be crime victims

  A National Urban Survey on Citizen Safety in Chile released this week in Santiago found that more than half the population fears going out at night because of crime.

• Friday, July 14th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Slow season for minke whales, admits Norway

  Norway's whaling fleet will catch only half of its quota this season. The government set a quota of 1052 minke whales, (up from 797) but so far only 444 have been landed, reports BBC.