Mercosur

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile students and Police clash during National strike

  High school students were arrested and journalists injured in central Santiago during Monday's national strike.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina: “We need to expunge infectious cells” said Defence Minister

  Defence Minister Nilda Garré yesterday warned that to “heal the wounds” left by the 1976-1983 dictatorship the government must “expunge infectious cells” created by a bunch of officers, whom President Néstor Kirchner accused of vindicating state terrorism. She denied any unease among the armed forces.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexico ready for crucial television debate

  Mexico's presidential candidates in the run up to the July 2 election will hold Tuesday evening a televised debate, which is considered crucial given the parity among the contenders.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  US proposes trade union to compete with China

  Washington called on western hemisphere countries to team with United States in trade associations to better compete with China and other world blocks.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Repsol-YPF investing heavily in Brazil

  Spain's Repsol-YPF and Petrobras have jointly begun offshore production in Brazil with the country's largest and most sophisticated oil rig.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  First Caribbean cruise for world's largest vessel

  The world's largest cruise ship has set sail from Miami on her first Caribbean cruise carrying regular passengers, reports BBC. The 160,000-ton Freedom of the Seas has knocked the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner off the top of the list of the world's biggest cruise ships.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina's May inflation 0.5%, but consumers doubt

  Argentina's Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% last May, the lowest in three months and below the same month a year ago, totalling 4.4% in the first five months of 2006. Furthermore food and beverage, two essential components of the Basic Food Basket actually contracted 0.3% reported the Statistics and Census Office.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur is “agonising” and Brazil lost “leadership”

  Mercosur is agonising and the situation could worsen if any of its members signs a free trade agreement with a third party, warned former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

• Tuesday, June 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil supports Venezuela for UN Security Council

  Brazil's Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim said it was only “natural” that his country should support the candidacy of Venezuela, instead of Guatemala, to the United Nations Security Council.

• Monday, June 5th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Morales begins land distribution among Bolivian Indians

  Bolivian President Evo Morales launched Saturday his land reform by distributing an estimated 20.000 square kilometres of government property among poor peasants and Indians.