Mercosur

• Tuesday, March 7th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Thirty world leaders at Bachelet's taking office ceremony

  At least thirty world leaders and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have confirmed their assistance to the taking office ceremony of elected Chilean president Michele Bachelet next Saturday March 11, reported officials from the Government House in Santiago.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Lan Argentina “should be profitable” by end of 2006

  Chilean flag carrier Lan Chile expects its Argentine subsidiary to become profitable towards the end of this year by capturing 30% of the air travel market.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Emperor penguins win the best documentary Oscar

  A film about the trials of Emperor penguins struggling to survive in Antarctica, “March of the Penguins”, won the Oscar for the best documentary last Sunday at the Hollywood Academy Awards.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexican record oil exports during January

  Mexico's government owned oil consortium Pemex reported record exports of crude, volume and value, during January. Exports totalled 3.18 billion US dollars compared to 1.39 billion in January 2005.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Foreign investment in Chile contracted during 2005

  Foreign investment in Chile declined drastically last year, amounting to half the 2004 level revealed officials from the Foreign Investment Committee in Santiago.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Buenos Aires Councillors oust mayor over nightclub tragedy

  Buenos Aires City Council fired Tuesday Mayor Anibal Ibarra for “poor performance of his duties”, a charge stemming from a December 2004 discotheque blaze that killed 193 and injured more than 700 people.

• Monday, March 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur Army commanders meet in Chile

  The Bolivian Army will be participating this week in a meeting of Mercosur Army Staff Commanders in Chile with the purpose of coordinating cooperation in peace operations and international humanitarian aid.

• Monday, March 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Released former Ecuadorian president vows return

  Former Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutierrez was released last week from prison in Quito where he had been held since last October on charges of endangering national security.

• Monday, March 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Arias confirmed as Costa Rica's elected president

  Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias was confirmed as Costa Rica's next president after his rival Otton Solis conceded defeat following a vote by vote manual recount of the closest and most contested election in the Central American country's history.

• Monday, March 6th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia's “re-founding” project firmly on track

  Bolivian Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill calling for a constitutional assembly and a regional autonomy referendum, two of President Evo Morales electoral promises on which the “new” Bolivia is to be “re-founded”.