Mercosur

• Thursday, May 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Lan, best airline in Central, South America and Caribbean

  For the sixth time Chile's flag carrier Lan was named the best airline in Central and South America and the Caribbean according to the Official Airline Guide, the leading world guide in the airline industry.

• Thursday, May 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Paraguayans pay 50 US dollars per capita in bribes

  Paraguayans spent some 30 million US dollars in 2005 to bribe bureaucrats, police and other officials according to a watchdog NGO which claims corruption is a pervasive “reality” of the landlocked South American country.

• Thursday, May 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Ample support for Lula da Silva's second term

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stands out as an undefeatable candidate for next October's election according to two of the country's most respected public opinion pollsters.

• Thursday, May 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner dreams of a “more plural Argentina”

  Argentine President Nestor Kirchner drew an estimated 350,000 supporters to Buenos Aires Plaza de Mayo for a rally to highlight the economy's recovery and his three years in office.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  A new Country born in Europe

  Montenegro's leaders were cleared to run the world's newest state yesterday after official results showed 55.5 percent of voters had chosen independence, ending nearly a century of formal ties to Serbia and closing the final chapter in the story of Yugoslavia.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Web inventor: Internet is ready for big leap

  The World Wide Web is on the cusp of making its next big leap to become an open environment for collaboration, and its inventor said he has not been so optimistic in years.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur: “Civil society must help integration”

  Alvarez quit as Argentina's vice-president in October 2000 in what many consider the beginning of the end of the Radical-Frepaso alliance headed by then President Fernando de la Rúa, which collapsed amid deadly riots in December 2001 as the country fell into its worst-ever economic crisis.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexican opposition candidate apologizes to President Fox

  In an unexpected move the Mexican leading opposition presidential candidate apologised to President Vicente Fox for having used offensive language against him although he also criticized the government's support for the ruling party candidate.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  When cancelling sovereign foreign debt is not a good deal

  Chile could pay off by the end of the year its full foreign debt with the surplus generated from booming international copper prices.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Peru thanks Chile for “gagging” Fujimori

  Peruvian officials praised Tuesday Chile's decision to stop former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, currently free on bail in Santiago, from making further political statements until the extradition process is over.