Mercosur

• Sunday, April 23rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner, South Atlantic fisheries tough sheriff

  Since taking office in 2003 the Argentine administration of president Nestor Kirchner has arrested more vessels illegally fishing in the South Atlantic than in the previous thirteen years points out the Buenos Aires daily Clarin in its Saturday edition.

• Sunday, April 23rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Caruana tells Madrid audience “No movement on sovereignty”

  Chief Minister Peter Caruana delivered a robust defence of Gibraltar's right to self-determination before a high-powered audience in the heart of Madrid last Friday.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez proposes a “new equals configuration” for Mercosur

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is sponsoring a “new configuration” for Mercosur to help overcome the current asymmetries among members which are threatening the cohesion of the block.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  EU full support for Uruguay in pulp mill dispute

  European Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson gave full support to the Finnish company Botnia in the dispute with Argentina over the construction of a pulp mill in Fray Bentos in neighbouring Uruguay on the river that marks the border between the two countries.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Crude ends week with another high

  Oil prices vaulted to a new peak over US$75 a barrel yesterday as investment funds snapped up crude futures and tension mounted over Iran's nuclear intentions.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Cheers and tributes as Queen Elizabeth turns 80

  Prince Charles has led glowing tributes for Queen Elizabeth II, his “darling Mama”, as she celebrated her 80th birthday with a royal walkabout and a private family dinner.

• Friday, April 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Pulp mills conflict: Finish minister cancels Argentine visit

  The Argentine/Uruguayan conflict over the building of pulp mills in Uruguay has had a further impact, this time in Finland which announced the cancelling of one of its ministers' visit to Buenos Aires.

• Friday, April 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  US consumer inflation in March rose 0.4%

  Rising energy and clothing costs pushed March's United States consumer prices index 0.4%.

• Friday, April 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil must resist “fiscal easing” pressures

  Brazil will have to resist pressures for fiscal easing to sustain high primary surpluses and to raise medium term growth through reform efforts including improving the quality of fiscal policy and the business climate, according to IMF's World Economic Outlook released this week.

• Friday, April 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  New FAM outbreak in south Brazil

  Brazilian authorities confirmed Thursday a new outbreak of the highly contagious foot and mouth disease in the state of Matto Grosso do Sul, close to the Paraguayan border.