Mercosur

• Friday, April 15th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Squid season north of 44º S begins April 21

  The Argentine Federal Fisheries Council (CFP) has requested the Under secretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SSP&A) to authorise squid (Illex argentinus) fishing north of parallel 44º S as of next April 20, 24:00 hours. The request is based on the fact that “conditions that prompted the early opening of the 2004 season north of 44º S remain unchanged”.

• Thursday, April 14th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Presidential “backtracking”.

  President Néstor Kirchner yesterday justified his decision to suspend a decree requiring telecommunication companies to monitor customers' calls and Web-surfing habits, saying that “he did not know when he signed it that it implied violation of privacy rights” protected by Argentina's Constitution.

• Thursday, April 14th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Killer flu frenzy

  Countries around the world were destroying vials of a pandemic flu strain yesterday which were sent to thousands of labs as part of a routine test kit, risking a global flu epidemic.

• Thursday, April 14th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Low-cost Windows reaches Brazil

  Microsoft Corp. launched a scaled-back version of its Windows operating system in Brazil yesterday, hoping to get more people using computers in Latin America's largest country while cutting down on rampant software piracy.

• Thursday, April 14th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil Launches Book by Papal Candidate

  Brazil's cardinal, considered a strong contender for pope, harshly criticizes pro-market reforms and the globalization of the economy and urges solidarity with workers in a new book rushed into publication after the death John Paul II.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuela support, “kiss of death” for Insulza

  Chile's Foreign Affairs Minister Ignacio Walker said Tuesday that two countries committed to vote for Chilean candidate Jose Miguel Insulza as the next Secretary General of the Organization of American States switched their support to Mexican Luis Ernesto Derbez.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Region's energy equation depends on Chile/Bolivia

  If Chilean-Bolivian litigation can be solved, the region could rapidly achieve an “energy equation” putting an end to all supply problems, said Argentine president Nestor Kirchner currently in a state visit to Germany.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  World expansion in 2005 estimated in 4,3%

  Surging oil prices plus the world economy's growing misbalances have put a break on growth expectations for many countries, indicates the IMF World Economic Outlook, although it insists in an overall 4,3% expansion forecast for 2005.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF good marks for Mercosur members

  Economic prospects for several Mercosur country members, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay in 2005 and 2006 are the best of the Latinamerica and Caribbean region, according to the latest International Monetary Fund “World Economic Outlook”.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Romania and Bulgaria voted into the EU

  The European Parliament cleared the way for Romania and Bulgaria to join the European Union January 2007, although the debate was not extent of controversy.