Mercosur

• Monday, October 13th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  De-freezing of relations with Cuba.

  For the first time in fourteen years an Argentine Foreign Affairs minister visited Cuba for 48 hours to re-establish full diplomatic relations and as a clear sign of “political willingness from both governments to give a greater thrust to the bilateral relationship”.

• Sunday, October 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  “Fluctuating G” and Buenos Aires Consensus.

  Thirteen countries of the original group of 20 (21 or 22) that was formed in the recent failed World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun, Mexico to fight agriculture protectionism in developed countries, confirmed last Friday in Buenos Aires “the importance of the full standing of the multilateral trade system and the WTO”.

• Sunday, October 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  UNITAS naval exercise in South Atlantic.

  Beginning this week navies from several South American countries, Spain and United States will be participating in the annual Unitas exercise that deploys surface vessels, submarines and air support in the South Atlantic.

• Sunday, October 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Child prostitution scandal in Santiago.

  A Chilean politician who accused three fellow members of Congress of alleged links with a child prostitution ring currently under investigation, resigned from her party.

• Friday, October 10th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil: Oil new project in the Amazon jungle.

  Brazil's state oil industry is extracting more natural gas and crude in the country's jungled north as part of a development program that is bringing investment and jobs on pipelines and at refineries, in the remote and left-behind region.

• Friday, October 10th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Senate Suspends Court Justice.

  Argentina's Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to suspend a controversial Supreme Court justice, the second targeted in a high court purge led by President Nestor Kirchner.

• Friday, October 10th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Five charged with illegal fishing in Australia's sub-Antarctic waters.

  The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has charged five foreign nationals with illegal fishing following the seizure of the Uruguayan-flagged vessel Viarsa 1.

• Thursday, October 9th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur against extending “Peace Clause”

  Mercosur will not accept an extension of the World Trade Organization, WTO, “Peace Clause” which expires next December 31 and impedes taking countries that subsidize agriculture before international tribunals.

• Wednesday, October 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  How corrupt are you perceived?

  Transparency International, TI, the London based organization that fights corruption said this Tuesday that nine out of ten developing countries need practical support from overseas to help with corruption since they can't do it with their own means.

• Wednesday, October 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Energy industry requests “clear game rules”

  The Argentine energy complex and related industries requested from the government “urgent measures to re-establish legal security and investors' trust”.