Mercosur

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexico poll 'too close to call'

  Mexico's presidential election was too close to call Sunday, with voters bitterly divided between a leftist offering himself as a savior to the poor and a conservative warning that his rival's free-spending proposals threaten the economy.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Over 252.000 tons of squid landed in Argentina

  Argentina' squid landings between January and May this year totalled 253.517 tons, up 97% over the same period last year which reached 128.567 tons according to a release from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SSPA).

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile and Argentina advance with trans-Andean train

  Mendoza City mayor Julio Cobos announced Saturday that the presidents of Chile and Argentina, Michelle Bachelet and Néstor Kirchner, will meet in August to finalize the planning for a new trans-Andean train that will connect Santiago with Mendoza.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexican hopefuls promise to respect election result

  Mexican presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador softened his stance Monday saying he will accept defeat in Sunday's election as long as it was clear that voting had been “free and clean”, with a precinct by precinct review”.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Good prospects for 2006/07 South American tourism

  Preliminary results for the first four months of 2006 point to some 236 million international tourist arrivals worldwide, or 10 million more than in the same period of 2005, reflecting the sustained growth in global tourism demand started in 2004.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Regional autonomy becomes Morales great challenge

  Bolivian president Evo Morales proclaimed a three tier victory for his administration and political party in Sunday's election for the nomination of a Constitutional Assembly that will be tasked with drafting a new charter to ensure the re-foundation of Bolivia including its aboriginal population.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF praises Uruguay but insists with structural reforms

  In a positive report on the Uruguayan economy, the International Monetary Fund praised the country's robust growth and inflation control but also recommended the implementation of “crucial” structural reforms, sustained macroeconomic policies and strengthening labour market flexibility

• Sunday, July 2nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexicans go to polls in crucial race

  With leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon running neck-and-neck, the elections which will also decide both Houses of Congress, five governors seats and local posts hinge on class divisions that have seldom been talked about so openly in Mexican politics.

• Sunday, July 2nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Flooding and mudslides isolate Ushuaia

  Tierra del Fuego was gradually returning to normal Sunday evening following torrential rains, flooding and mudslides which left Ushuaia and Rio Grande isolated and with no drinking water.

• Sunday, July 2nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Petrobras plans to invest 87 billion US dollars in five years

  Brazilian government owned oil corporation Petrobras plans to invest 87 billion US dollars between 2007 and 2011 increasing energy production to 3.49 million barrels per day, which then should jump to 4.55 million bpd by 2015.