Mercosur

• 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.

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

  Bird flu 'likely to reach Britain'

  The Government has confirmed that bird flu was “likely” to reach UK shores following confirmation that a duck in France died of the disease.

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

  Chavez Warns U.S. on Oil Export

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Friday he could cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington goes “over the line” in what he has said are attempts to destabilize his left-leaning government.

• Friday, February 17th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Luxury ocean liner secrets revealed

  A museum, a 6,000-book library and a conservatory will feature on Cunard's new 90,000-tonne liner Queen Victoria, it has been revealed.

• Friday, February 17th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela puts pressure on Opec to cut its output

  The next meeting of oil ministers from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may be more than two weeks away but Venezuela has fired the first salvo. It has stated that the oil cartel should cut its output by up to 1m barrels a day.

• Friday, February 17th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Greenland ice-loss doubles in past decade

  The loss of ice from Greenland doubled between 1996 and 2005, as its glaciers flowed faster into the ocean in response to a generally warmer climate, according to a NASA/University of Kansas study in the journal Science.

• Friday, February 17th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Malvinas veterans win compensations claim

  An Argentine court ruled that a group of Malvinas war veterans, all belonging to the conscripts class 1962 have the right to collect retroactively from April 2, 1982, pensions and compensations which had since been denied, reported the Buenos Aires press.

• Thursday, February 16th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Mercosur/EU anticipate results in Vienna summit

  Mercosur and European Union representatives meeting in Buenos Aires Wednesday agreed to relaunch bilateral negotiations for a cooperation and free trade treaty which has been bogged for months.