Mercosur

• Saturday, June 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner-Lagos analyze common energy project

  Argentine president Nestor Kirchner and his Chilean counterpart Ricardo Lagos meeting in Patagonia promised to overcome bilateral “inconveniences” caused by the regional energy crisis and agreed to a common policy in global affairs.

• Saturday, June 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil ratifies orthodoxy in spite of political infighting

  Brazil's Finance Minister Antonio Palocci said Friday in London there's no chance that the current administration of President Lula da Silva will abandon the current tight fiscal and monetary policies in spite of internal political disputes.

• Saturday, June 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  US trade figures suggest strong rebound

  Trade figures released Friday by the United Stated Commerce Department suggest a strong rebound of the US economy with a 57 billion US dollars deficit in April showing record exports and imports.

• Saturday, June 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Extreme poverty hits 222 million Latinamericans

  In spite of recent advances Latinamerica still has 222 million people living in extreme poverty of which 96 million are described as in indigent, according to the latest report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean released this week in Santiago.

• Saturday, June 11th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  FIFA World Youth Championships: US upset Argentina

  The United States pulled off a major upset at the World Youth Championship, downing tournament favourites Argentina 1-0 in the opening Group D match. Chile crushed Honduras 7-0.

• Friday, June 10th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF praises Uruguay and approves new stand by arrangement

  The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund today approved a 36-month, SDR 766.3 million (about 1.13 billion US dollars) Stand-By Arrangement for Uruguay, aimed at supporting the country's economic stabilization through mid-2008 and helping to foster sustainable growth while reducing vulnerabilities related to high public debt.

• Friday, June 10th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia: caretaker president and early elections.

  The head of Bolivia's Supreme Court Eduardo Martinez was sworn in late Thursday as the country's new president with the almost only task of calling early elections that should help overcome the political turmoil which had Bolivia in the brink of civil war.

• Friday, June 10th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Malvinas: “Assertion Day of Argentine rights”

  The Argentine government ratified its “permanent and unrenounceable determination to recover” the Malvinas islands by “peaceful means” on the commemoration this Friday of the “Assertion Day of Argentine rights” over the South Atlantic islands.

• Thursday, June 9th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula sacks corrupt officials from his party

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sacked the leading officials from the government run Post Office and the Reinsurances Institute following corruption allegations involving members of his own ruling party.

• Thursday, June 9th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF describes the Euro as a “great success”

  International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato described the Euro as a “great success” and once again warned about world financial misbalances during a press conference Wednesday in Frankfort.