Mercosur

• Monday, February 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  New incorporation to regional cruise industry

  Via Australis the latest Chilean incorporation to the regional cruise industry was in Punta Arenas over the weekend preparing for her inaugural trip March 4.

• Monday, February 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia/US agree on “zero cocaine” policy

  Bolivian President Evo Morales reached an agreement with the United States to reduce surplus coca crops in the central Chapare region and adopt a “zero cocaine” policy.

• Monday, February 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  A quarter of Brazilian youth idle

  Nearly a quarter of Brazilians in the 15 to 24 age group neither work nor study, reported Monday Folha de Sao Paulo, quoting a paper by an independent think-tank.

• Monday, February 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuela/US rift increasingly fragile

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that if no opposition candidates run in the December presidential election, he might seek to lift the constitutional limit on successive presidential terms.

• Monday, February 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentines against pulp mills but trust a compromise

  A majority of Argentines is against Uruguay's plans to establish two pulp mills on the shared river Uruguay, which acts as a natural border between the two countries, according to public opinion polls published Sunday in the Buenos Aires press.

• Sunday, February 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Rolling Stones “the biggest-ever show”

  Just a week before Carnival, the Rolling Stones drew an estimated one and a half million people to a free concert last night on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

• Sunday, February 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  France delivers two support vessels to Argentina

  France will be delivering to Argentina for a “symbolic” price, two support vessels that can each carry 500 troops, four helicopters and 1.500 tons of equipment. The Ouragan is expected in Buenos Aires next mid March and the Orage in 2007.

• Saturday, February 18th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  US producer prices rose 0.3% in January

  Higher food, car and energy costs pushed United States producer prices up by more than expected in January, according to the latest report from the Labour Department.

• Saturday, February 18th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Poor start for Chile's fruit export season

  The Chilean 2005/06 fruit export season is undergoing a poor start because of out of time rainfall and the plunge of the US dollar against the Chilean peso which eroded competitiveness to the country's overseas sales.

• Saturday, February 18th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Two great ladies of the sea to meet in Long Beach

  Two great ladies of shipping history are scheduled to meet next week in Long Beach, California. The meeting of Cunard Lines' Queen Mary 2 and her namesake, the original Queen Mary, will take place at noon next Thursday, February 23.