
Brazil’s main financial newspaper Valor Economico revealed that the recent summit between Presidents Cristina Fernandez and Dilma Rousseff from Argentina and Brazil was far from polite and enlightening, rather the contrary with “strong disagreements in the fields of trade and investment” shaking the foundations of Mercosur.

The business representative of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires Alí Pakdaman announced on Monday that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad endorsed without Congress approval the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Argentina and Tehran in order to investigate the AMIA Jewish centre bombing which killed 85 people in 1994.

Argentina questioned the UK after its negative vote at the United Nations General Assembly to place French Polynesia back on the UN list of non autonomous territories that should be decolonised Additionally Argentina renewed its claim over the Falkland Islands sovereignty and described the UK attitude, ‘colonial hypocrisy’.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Pope Francis and, apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless dictatorship of the economy and the “cult of money”, called for stronger regulation of financial markets.

Venezuelan authorities have released a dissent ex-general who was jailed on charges of inciting unrest after the country’s disputed presidential election. Retired General Antonio Rivero, who is also a member of the opposition movement Popular Will, said he would “take care of my health” as he was freed late Friday.

Lan Chile admitted the company had to yield to the demands from the Argentine company Intercargo, which monopolizes ground services in all the country’s air terminals, so that they could resume normal traffic in Argentina. It also said that it was not leaving Argentine but would review future investments and expects more common sense from local authorities.

The UN General Assembly on Friday put French Polynesia on the global body's decolonization list at a meeting boycotted by France. The resolution, passed by consensus in the 193 member assembly, was called for by the Solomon Islands and other Pacific states that back the Pacific territory's pro-independence parties.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro admitted to knowing ‘with IDs and all’ who are the 900.000 Chavistas who crossed lines and did not vote for him in the 14 April election which anointed him as the successor of deceased Hugo Chavez.

PDVSA, Venezuela’s government oil and gas giant will allow joint ventures with China National Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Corp. to manage 6 billion dollars in loans designed to revert oil output declines, said a PDVSA official.

Argentina’s Antarctica campaigns are losing their flair and the country is having difficulties to fill vacancies for the 2013/14 season. This follows repeated claims of alleged corruption and delays in supplying the bases and stations plus an overall lack of support from the Defence ministry.