Mercosur

• Friday, January 9th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile: No way will we give Bolivia sovereign access to sea

  In the face of a renewed Bolivian bid for a piece of Pacific coastline, Chile said Thursday it is willing to talk about access and cooperation, but that Bolivia can forget about obtaining sovereignty over any piece of what is now Chile.

• Thursday, January 8th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Rio demands end of fingerprinting for US tourists

  Rio do Janeiro fearing an impact on its tourist industry is strongly lobbying for the elimination of a federal court decision instructing Brazilian police to photograph and fingerprint all visiting U.S. citizens.

• Thursday, January 8th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Buenos Aires inflation 3,7% in 2003.

  The Consumer Prices Index for the city of Buenos Aires and metropolitan areas increased 0,2% last December totalling 3,7% for the twelve months of 2003.

• Thursday, January 8th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Latinamerica has 19 million urban unemployed.

  Latinamerica has 19 million urban unemployed and suffers from an overall retraction in the quality of jobs according to the annual report from the International Labour Organization which was presented this week in Santiago.

• Thursday, January 8th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Bush's immigration proposal gets mixed reception

  President George W. Bush's immigration reform proposal was greeted Wednesday with reactions that ranged from warm praise to categorical condemnation.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile with lowest inflation since 1935

  With December recording a negative 0,3%, retail prices in Chile finished 2003 with a 1,1% increase, the lowest since 1935, when the index actually dropped 1,4%.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  US dollar February summit in Florida

  Finance Ministers and heads of Central Banks of the seven more industrialized countries of the world, G-7, will be meeting next 6/7 February in Boca Ratón, Florida, according to a release from the US Treasury Department.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Mexico still bans River Plate beef

  Mexico still discards the possibility of importing beef from countries such as Argentina and Uruguay in spite of the fact that it has closed borders with its main supplier the United States, after an outbreak of “mad cow” or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE, was confirmed in the state of Washington close to the Canadian border.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  New US farm policy punishes Latinamerica

  The effects of the new United States 2002 farm policy will have a negative impact for Latinamerican exports, according to a report from the United Nations Economic Committer for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal with main offices in Santiago.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Record number of visitors to Torres del Paine

  The Chilean Torres del Paine National Park received a record number of foreign visitors during 2003 with a 22% increase over 2002.