Politics

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 22:25 UTC

  Brazilian industry demands Mercosur looks for new markets or will end ‘isolated’

  

  The powerful Brazilian National Confederation of Industry, CNI said that the country and its Mercosur partners will end ‘isolated’ if they don’t actively look for alternative trade accords, as is being done by other Latam countries.

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 06:54 UTC

  IAATO focus on collaborative work at the 36th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) reported to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM XXXVI) last week and as in previous years, in addition to presenting statistics and estimates of numbers for next season, IAATO reported on the Association’s recent work and activities. This year, there was a heavy focus on the collaborative work that IAATO has undertaken with Treaty Parties and other Observers and Experts in a variety of fields.

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 06:38 UTC

  OAS assembly adopts convention against racism and all forms of intolerance

  

  The General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), meeting in Guatemala adopted the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance and the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance and opened them for signature.

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 06:33 UTC

  Throwing away food is like stealing from the poor, Francis tells followers

  

  Francis has denounced what he called a “culture of waste” in an increasingly consumerist world and said throwing away good food was like stealing from poor people.

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 06:30 UTC

  Two continents’ police bust ring that shipped cocaine hidden in frozen fish to Spain

  

  Brazilian authorities said they had smashed a ring of narco-traffickers said to have shipped drugs hidden in frozen fish to Europe. Eleven members of the drug and money laundering network, based in Brazil and with connections in Colombia, Portugal and Spain were arrested between last Friday and Tuesday and 5 million dollars worth of goods seized, prosecutors said.

• Thursday, June 6th 2013 - 02:13 UTC

  U.S. and Venezuela agree to start dialogue to restore respective ambassadors

  

  The United States is to start a dialogue with Venezuela aimed at restoring their respective ambassadors, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said. He was speaking after Venezuela freed and deported a US filmmaker who had been held on conspiracy charges. Mr Kerry welcomed Timothy Tracy's release as a “positive development”.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2013 - 22:11 UTC

  Argentina seizes Brazilian cargo railway concession arguing non compliance with contract conditions

  

  Argentina expropriated a cargo railway concession from Brazil’s All America Latina Logistica, ALL, and a tourist train concession, citing non-compliance with contractual agreements. ALL operated the railways between Mendoza province and the Rosario port as well as the railway between Misiones province and the Buenos Aires port since 1999.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2013 - 19:21 UTC

  Uruguay former president calls on Latam to advance in agreements with the US

  

  “The time for rhetoric exercises has run out”, said Uruguayan former president Tabare Vazquez during a presentation before the Latin American Studies Association, LASA, in Washington where he emphasized the need for Latinamerican countries to advance in agreements with the United States.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2013 - 17:49 UTC

  Uruguay ‘can’t ignore (Mercosur) reality’ and is applying for full Pacific Alliance membership

  

  Vice-president and acting president Danilo Astori strongly defended the Uruguayan government’s intention of joining the Pacific Alliance, next to Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico, claiming that Mercosur has fallen into a state of ‘inactivity’ but also rejected point blank statements from Brazilian diplomacy contrary to such a move.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2013 - 08:37 UTC

  Obama and Piñera in the White House renew push for a trans-Pacific trade agreement

  

  US President Barack Obama and Chilean President Sebastian Piñera renewed their push for a trans-Pacific trade agreement at a meeting in the White House Oval Office on Tuesday that also touched on education and renewable energy.