
Argentine farmers' leaders described the long awaited Friday meeting with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to discuss camp policies, particularly taxes, as positive and praised the sincere and dialogue spirit of the three hours discussions held at Government House, Casa Rosada.

President Hugo Chavez announced plans to nationalize Venezuela's biggest steel maker, Sidor, which belongs to the Argentine-Italian group Techint, with shares in the New York Stock Exchange. The group has close links with the Kirchners.

A mighty warrior of the seas, USS George Washington will be visiting Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile next May.

France called off a humanitarian mission Tuesday to treat and possibly free ailing hostage Ingrid Betancourt after Colombian rebels said they wouldn't unilaterally release any more captives.

BRYAN SIBLEY, a Corporal in the Royal Marines during the Falklands War, has become the first SAMA82 veteran to be awarded an indulgence flight to visit the Islands.

Argentine Patagonia Nahuel Huapi National Park administrators have started expropriation proceedings against landowners, among them US media tycoon Ted Turner. Landowners have consistently refused free public access to rivers and lakes, park sources said.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner next Friday will meet with representatives from the country's four organizations that staged a three week lock out to protest the increase in sliding export taxes on oil seeds and cereals, according to sources in Buenos Aires.

After meeting with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Palace late last week, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet spoke firmly about the double standards today's female leaders have to deal with.

European Union ministers rejected Monday two Brussels maritime safety laws by a large majority. The proposed directives on flag state control and civil liability for ship owners received the support of fewer than seven of the 27 EU member states at a council of ministers meeting in Luxembourg, according to Lloyd's List portal.

The segregation of rich and poor students in Chile may be the worst in the world, according to a recent Universidad de Chile study confirming what many education leaders already suspected.