Mercosur

• Sunday, February 26th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Russia/US dispute over Antarctica ice drilling

  United States and Russia are locked in another cold war, this time over a hole in the ice at the bottom of the world in Antarctica. At issue is the Russian plan to continue drilling a hole they began in 1998 until they poke through the ice into a large, long-buried lake known as Vostok.

• Sunday, February 26th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile begins de-mining next to Argentine border

  With the presence of Defence ministers from Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, Chilean authorities will officially begin next Tuesday de-mining operations in the north of country, according to Santiago press reports.

• Sunday, February 26th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean Navy renews RN units with Dutch frigates

  After four decades of service the Chilean Navy is decommissioning a destroyer and a frigate originally built for the Royal Navy.

• Sunday, February 26th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Falklands vessels called “64 times” in Montevideo

  Twenty four Falkland Islands' flagged vessels called in Montevideo 64 times for supplies and maintenance between January 2005 and February 2006, according to a long report published in the Sunday edition of Buenos Aires newspaper “Perfil”.

• Saturday, February 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil's economy grew just 2.3% in 2005

  Gross domestic product in Latin America's largest economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2005 amid high interest rates used to keep inflation at bay, the government said yesterday.

• Saturday, February 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Repsol-YPF net profits rise 29% in 2005

  Spanish-Argentine oil and energy company Repsol- YPF said yesterday its net profit rose 29 percent to a record in 2005 thanks in large part to a robust fourth quarter, when earnings more than doubled.

• Saturday, February 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  France confirms bird flu at farm

  The French has government confirmed that the H5N1 bird flu virus struck a turkey farm, in the European Union's first outbreak of the lethal strain in commercial poultry

• Saturday, February 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  191 nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2006

  Altogether 168 individuals and 23 organizations have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2006. This is slightly less than last year's record of 199 candidates. The Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the winner in the middle of October.

• Saturday, February 25th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Paintings by European masters stolen from Rio museum

  A spectacular robbery of art works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Dali marred the start of the Rio Carnival on Friday, which saw a slimmer than usual King Momo kick off festivities to feverish samba rhythms.

• Friday, February 24th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuela Bars Two U.S. Airlines

  Venezuela has prohibited Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines from flying into this South American nation and is restricting American Airlines, Francisco Plaz, the president of the National Aviation Institute, said.