Mercosur

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Tourism's attitude more resilient to terrorism

  Tourism has become more resilient to the threat of terrorism over the past few years as the market's attitude has changed from fear to defiance, and last month's bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh are expected to have only a short-lived effect on the Egyptian resort, according to a new United Nations report.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Corruption is part of the “Mexican culture”

  The Mexican government admitted that corruption is an extended practice in the country, long rooted and therefore “part of the national culture”, and will take many years to eradicate.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Navy returns properties to Punta Arenas communist party

  Mid day Thursday and as had been previously announced the Chilean Navy returned two Punta Arenas downtown properties which had been taken over September 11/1973 and which originally belonged to the regional Communist Party.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Mrs. Pinochet free on bail

  The wife of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was granted bail Thursday a day after having been charged together with her youngest son of tax fraud.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula's administration deeper and deeper in trouble

  The publicist who managed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 2002 election campaign admitted Thursday before a congressional committee that the ruling Workers Party paid part of his fee via third-party deposits into a Bahamas bank account.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez denies he's a threat to the region

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday in Argentina that his government is no threat to Latin America, despite what the United States may think.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Hawks and doves exchange views at Malvinas seminar.

  The debate on the role of diplomacy in the Malvinas / Falkland Islands dispute at the two day seminar on “The Malvinas in the South American Union” at the Foreign Ministry this morning, billed as “The Malvinas Question and the Transitory Understanding since 1989”, served to underscore the many differences that exist in Argentine society vis-à-vis handling the dispute.

• Friday, August 12th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Hard left slam Kirchner & Bielsa over Malvinas oil

  A group of around 100 protesters belonging to the leftwing Trotskyist Socialist Workers Movement (MST) this afternoon staged a noisy demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry building in downtown Buenos Aires protesting over Argentina's current policies vis-à-vis the disputed Malvinas-Falklands Islands.

• Thursday, August 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Pinochet's wife and son jailed for tax fraud

  Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's wife and youngest son were indicted and arrested Wednesday in Santiago on tax fraud charges in connection with the millions of dollars discovered in the family's secret bank accounts overseas.

• Thursday, August 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuela-Uruguay sign 25 year oil deal

  Venezuela will guarantee Uruguay's oil supply for the next 25 years as part of an energy deal that also includes providing fuel to other countries in the region.