Mercosur

• Thursday, March 3rd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  S. American countries agree energy and financial coordination.

  Presidents of Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela agreed Wednesday in Uruguay to promote energy integration and coordinate their stance vis a vis international multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary Fund.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Jubilant Celebrations in Uruguay.

  More than half a million people went out to the streets in this capital Tuesday to greet the course of Tabare Vazquez minutes before he took office as the first Uruguayan Socialist President, in the history of this South American nation.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Prince Edwards meets President Ricardo Lagos.

  Prince Edward arrives this evening in Santiago for a 24 hours visit to Chile after participating Tuesday in the inauguration of Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez administration in Montevideo.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Punta Arenas main wool processing plant fire razed.

  British owned Standard Wool in Punta Arenas which processes 60% of Magallanes Region wool will be out of the carding and combing business for the next 12/18 months following a devastating blaze that razed with all the plant's equipment, several warehouses and over a thousand bales of greasy wool.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner reiterates sovereignty claims.

  Argentine president Nestor Kirchner reiterated this week his administration's strong commitment to recovering the full sovereignty over the Falklands/Malvinas islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich islands and adjoining maritime spaces, calling on the United Kingdom to resume negotiations leading to a peaceful solution of the dispute.

• Wednesday, March 2nd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez: Uruguay has joined the continent's “left trend”

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the self proclaimed leader of the “anti-imperialist” consensus in South America said in Montevideo Wednesday that with the inauguration of President Tabare Vazquez administration, Uruguay is now part of this growing movement.

• Tuesday, March 1st 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguayan wins first Oscar for a Spanish song.

  The Oscar was more than a prize for Uruguayan composer and singer Jorge Drexler, who used his statuette for Best Original Song as an opportunity to show the Academy Sunday evening what it means to sing in Spanish and win a moral victory.

• Tuesday, March 1st 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Pragmatism and seduction mark new Uruguayan president.

  Soft spoken Tabare Vazquez who takes office Tuesday as Uruguay's next elected president is the fourth child of an oil refinery worker and the first oncologist to come out of the working class Montevideo neighborhood of La Teja.

• Tuesday, March 1st 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Signal left, but turn right.

  Latinamerica's presidential elite, with the exception of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, plus representatives from over a hundred countries will be present Tuesday at the inauguration ceremony of Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez. An event that could be interpreted as a sensitive diplomatic and political realignment in the region.

• Monday, February 28th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  U.N.: Population to top 9 billion by 2050.

  The world's population will rise from 6.5 billion to 9.1 billion by 2050, according to a United Nations survey released Thursday.