
Namibian cement company Ohorongo cement has secured a three-year contract with construction firm Basil Read for the supply of cement for the building of a new airport on the British overseas territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, over 1900km from the Namibian coast.

The Paraguayan government declared “illegal” and “null and void” the inclusion of Venezuela as a full member of Mercosur which was agreed on Tuesday during the extraordinary meeting held in Brasilia with the absence of Paraguay.

Brazilian president DIlma Rousseff said that with the incorporation of Venezuela, Mercosur has become a global power in food and energy and becomes the fifth world economy with a GDP of 3.3tn dollars.

The US government said that Venezuela as any other country has the “sovereign right” to join regional organizations such as Mercosur. The statement from the US State Department comes on the day that Mercosur officially incorporated Venezuela as full member of the block.

After attending the Mercosur extraordinary meeting in Brasilia, President Cristina Fernández and her Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, signed a cooperation agreement to develop a strategic energy plan between state oil companies YPF and PDVSA.

Argentina repudiated the ‘profanation’ of the hermitage at the Darwin cemetery in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, which holds the graves of Argentine combatants who lost their lives during the 1982 conflict.

A controversy erupted in Argentina following confirmed claims that the government of President Cristina Fernandez appeals to convicted prisoners in support of public presentations and political rallies under cover of cultural activities.

Venezuela signed on Tuesday an agreement to purchase 20 commercial aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer in an operation valued at 900 million dollars

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and his peer Dilma Rousseff signed in Brasilia a bilateral agreement to promote the free circulation of goods and services and the strengthening of political and trade links between the two countries.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández said on Tuesday during a press conference held at the Mercosur extraordinary summit in Brasilia, that Venezuela’s entry to the bloc “strengthens the entire region” and creates a “new pole of power” at world level.