
Ahead of a regional meeting on Paraguay, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on all concerned to “work in the days ahead to ensure the peaceful resolution of differences” which led to the removal of the Paraguayan president.

Uruguay’s government is going forward with plans to build its first deepwater port along the Atlantic coastline in a place called “La Angostura”, an investment estimated in over 700 million dollars and which it wants to use as a platform to begin exporting iron-ore to China.

China and Chile upgraded their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership and expect to double trade in three years once the bilateral free trade area agreement is completed with investment related supplementary accords.

China has offered to set up a 10 billion dollars credit line for Latin American countries to support infrastructure projects in the region. The proposal was made by China's Premier Wen Jiabao as he wrapped up his visit to the region with a conference at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean, ECLAC, main offices in Santiago de Chile.

Britain reiterated its determination to continue to defend the Falkland Islands and other Overseas Territories on Thursday, an official document known as the White Paper said. The document on the Overseas Territories declares there would be no weakening in Britain's resolve.

Brazil's government has taken measures so that economic growth reaches at least 2.5% in 2012, said Finance Minister Guido Mantega following the announcement of new economic stimulus measures that are expected to accelerate the economy in the second half of the year.

US rating agency Moody's had downgraded the ratings of 11 Brazilian banks by one to three notches, almost all of them to the level of Brazil's sovereign credit rating.

The Falkland Islands government announced on Thursday it is content to hold preliminary talks with Argentina on air links and fisheries cooperation as was proposed by Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro to the Foreign Office last April 23, given certain clarifications.

Royal Navy ice patrol ship HMS Protector returned to Portsmouth on June 27 from her maiden deployment. The 5.000-ton ice-breaker spent most of her seven months away surveying and patrolling the Antarctic Peninsula.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez said on Wednesday that in an uncertain global scenario the priority of her administration was to ensure jobs and called on all sectors to unite in the defence of the political and economic model implemented since 2003.