Mercosur

• Sunday, January 8th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  New electoral timetable in volatile Haiti

  The first round of presidential and parliament elections in Haiti has been reprogrammed for February 7, revealed Sunday Chilean diplomat Juan Gabriel Valdes who is the United Nations envoy to the Caribbean country immersed in violent political turmoil.

• Sunday, January 8th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Japanese whaler rams Greenpeace vessel in Antarctica

  Greenpeace accused Sunday the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru of deliberately ramming its boat the Arctic Sunrise, in Antarctic waters before steaming off at high speed.

• Saturday, January 7th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  GOL Launches Flights to Montevideo

  Brazil's low-cost, low-fare airline, began today operating flights to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay

• Friday, January 6th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Fujimori legally trapped in Chile but candidate in Peru

  A Chilean Supreme Court judge ordered Friday that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori be held indefinitely pending Chile's consideration of an extradition request from the Peruvian government.

• Friday, January 6th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Closure of Venezuela's main bridge threatens economy

  Venezuela faces a serious economic and logistic challenge following the closure to all traffic of the bridge on the freeway linking Caracas to the country's main Caribbean seaport, its busiest air terminal and the beaches most visited by Caracas residents.

• Friday, January 6th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Bachelet manages to stay ahead in debate

  If the Chilean presidential run off were to take place this Sunday, the ruling coalition candidate Michelle Bachelet would win by a six points difference over conservative millionaire Sebastian Piñera, according to a public opinion poll organized by a team of experts from the Bachelet campaign team.

• Thursday, January 5th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Two ice blocks drifting in South Atlantic

  Two ice blocks are drifting along the Argentine coast 350 kilometres off shore pushed by the Malvinas current, warned Wednesday the Argentine Coast Guard.

• Thursday, January 5th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Controversy over strong Chilean peso persists

  Chile will only act to mitigate the appreciation of the local currency under exceptional situations because the current conditions surrounding the Real Exchange Rate, RER, of the Chilean peso are the most favourable in the last fifteen years, said Central Bank president Vittorio Corbo.

• Thursday, January 5th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile's consumer inflation in 2005: 3.7%

  Chile's consumer prices index last December dropped 0.3% totalling an annual inflation in 2005 of 3,7%, in line with the Central Bank 2 to 4% target, but the highest since the 4.5% of the year 2000.

• Thursday, January 5th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina's debt equivalent to 66% of GDP

  Cancelling the International Monetary Fund, IMF, debt does not represent a significant reduction in the overall debt of Argentina, although it does mean a contraction of international exposure.