Mercosur

• Monday, October 21st 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Populist win in Ecuador

  A former Colonel Lucio Gutiérrez is leading with 20,28% of the vote in Ecuador's tightest ever presidential election trailed by the country's wealthiest man, Alvaro Noboa with 17,41%, when over 95% of the vote count has concluded, according to the latest report of the Electoral Tribunal.

• Sunday, October 20th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Rio de la Plata storm causes one death and 1000 evacuations

  One person died and 1000 were evacuated from the city and province of Buenos Aires due to the heavy rains and winds that have been hitting the Rio de la Plata area since Saturday.

• Sunday, October 20th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Preliminary results in Ecuador show Alvaro Noboa in the lead

  Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced Sunday evening that 26 percent of the votes in the day's presidential election have been counted and that businessman Alvaro Noboa was in the lead with 17.47 percent.

• Friday, October 18th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Indians seek to increase power in Ecuadorian elections

  Ecuador's Indians, who - depending on who's counting - make up between a quarter and nearly half the Andean nation's population of 12 million, hope their recent efforts to better organize will pay off with increased influence resulting from Sunday's elections.

• Thursday, October 17th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil: We'll only accept FTAA if it suits our interests

  President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and the two candidates vying to succeed him agree that Brazil will only accept the creation of the Free-Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) if the pact takes their country's interests into account.

• Wednesday, October 16th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil props the Real

  Chilean beef exports; Rhino tracheal bovine infection in Magallanes; English artist exhibit in Antarctica; More complaints about Lan Chile

• Tuesday, October 15th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Breaking News from South America

  Lula leads two to one;
  IMF pushes Argentina; Ms. Krueger recommends re-scheduling;
  “Sanitary alert” in Mercosur

• Thursday, October 10th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  EU approves expansion

  The European Commission approved this Wednesday a historic report recommending that ten new countries be admitted into the European Union by 2004. Future members who have fulfilled EU political and economic criteria are Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta.

• Wednesday, October 9th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  Ciro Gomes supports Lula

  Former centre left candidate Ciro Gomes announced his full, “unrestricted and enthusiastic” support for Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the October 27th run off for the Brazilian presidency.

• Tuesday, October 8th 2002 - 21:00 UTC

  President Duhalde optimism

  Argentine president Eduardo Duhalde said that the country would reach an understanding with the International Monetary Fund before November 9th when Argentina must honour a 250 million US dollars debt with the World Bank.