Mercosur

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  New cases of foot-and-mouth in Brazil

  Six new cases of foot-and-mouth disease were confirmed in the southern state of Parana, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said yesterday.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  First steps to ban bottom trawling in South Pacific

  One-third of New Zealand's offshore waters are going to be declared off-limits to bottom-trawlers. The announcement was made in Wellington at the end of a fisheries conference attended by delegates from 20 nations.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  South Georgia's elephant seals contribution to science

  Equipped with computerised tags stuck to their heads, elephant seals in South Georgia have been collecting remarkable new information on conditions in the Southern Ocean.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean salmon industry sales reach 1.7 billion US dollars

  Chilean salmon and trout exports totalled 1.7 billion US dollars in 2005, up 20% over 2004, reports the Chilean Salmon Industry Association (SalmonChile). Export volume was 383.700 net tons, representing an 8% jump over the previous year.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Protests in Ecuador shut oil exports

  Ecuador's state-run oil company Petroecuador suspended on Tuesday crude exports following violent protests that forced the closing of the country's main pipeline, said Petroecuador executive Eduardo Naranjo.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil to consolidate as net exporter of oil in 2006

  Brazil's government owned energy giant Petrobras plans to increase investments by 48% in 2006 and forecasts the company will reach a daily production in the range of 1.9 million barrels, reported this week top officials from the company.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia demands “fairer” prices for gas sold to neighbours

  The Bolivian government ratified Tuesday its decision to increase the price of natural gas exported to Brazil and Argentina because it considers them “unfair”.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Abuse of recruits: Colombian Army chief sacked

  Colombian Army “basic training” exercises for recruits that involved scorching with a branding iron, beatings, near-drowning and sexual abuses ended Tuesday with the sacking of the commander of the force.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Arrested Falklands vessel in Comodoro Rivadavia

  Falkland Islands flagged “John Cheek” arrived Tuesday afternoon to Comorodo Rivadavia escorted by the Argentine Coast Guard and is forecasted to have to remain at least two weeks before her situation is cleared.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay appeals to OAS over conflict with Argentina

  Uruguay will formally ask this week the Organization of American States, OAS, to intervene in the bilateral dispute with Argentina over the construction of two pulp mills on the Uruguayan side of a river which acts as a natural frontier between the neighbouring countries.