Mercosur

• Sunday, September 18th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez claims US has “Balboa” plan to invade Venezuela

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez claimed to have documented evidence of United States intention of invading the country.

• Sunday, September 18th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile finally has a democratic constitution

  Chilean President Ricardo Lagos signed on Saturday the country's new constitution with sweeping reforms which eliminates the “authoritarian legacy” from the previous text drafted and imposed on Chile in 1980 by then dictator Augusto Pinochet.

• Saturday, September 17th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  United Nations Ozone Day: “more still to be done”

  United Nations celebrated Friday the 20 years of international efforts to repair the planet's ozone layer, which filters out the sun's ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer, cataracts and other ills, as an example of the world body's value in mobilizing and coordinating multilateral action to address global issues.

• Saturday, September 17th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  China shows no signs of slowing down

  The Chinese boom shows no signs of slowing down according to a report from the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development, OCDE, and will keep growing at the average 9,5% recorded during the last twenty years.

• Friday, September 16th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Pinochet received bribes from BAE

  United Kingdom arms manufacturer British Aerospace, BAE, paid through front companies over two million US dollars to General Augusto Pinochet, reveals a joint investigation by the British newspaper The Guardian and Chile's La Tercera.

• Friday, September 16th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina, richest country in Latinamerica

  Argentina figures as the richest country in Latinamerica according to the latest report from the World Bank which takes into account other items beyond the traditional per capita Gross Domestic Product, to measure countries' wealth.

• Friday, September 16th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  No end in sight to Mar del Plata fishermen's strike

  The Argentine government and the fishing unions are locked in a salary dispute which has paralyzed the country's main fleet in Mar del Plata. Unions are demanding the implementation of Ministry of Labour resolution 254/05 stipulating salaries must be paid in US dollars.

• Friday, September 16th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean salmon and trout exports keep expanding

  Chilean salmon and trout exports reached 903.1 million US dollars during the first seven month of 2005, a 10% increase over the same period in 2004, according to statistics from the Salmon Industry Association AG (SalmonChile). Export volume on the other hand expanded 3% to 215,636 tons.

• Friday, September 16th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine economy expands 10,1% in second quarter

  The Argentine economy expanded 10,1% in the second quarter of 2005 compared to the same period a year ago, the highest since the first quarter of 2004, spurred by investment and private consumption.

• Thursday, September 15th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  UN Assembly adopts watered down document

  The UN General Assembly adopted a watered-down document on poverty, human rights and UN reform for world leaders to approve at a summit this week, after shedding many of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's most ambitious goals during weeks of bitter debate.