
Uruguay with the help of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is becoming a pioneer in the marking and tracking of sharks and turtles in the western South Atlantic, which allows to establish migrating routes and other valuable data for the protection of these species.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica said on Monday it “is not useful” for foreign ministries to publicly exchange letters following Argentina’s latest message accusing Uruguay of not collaborating in exposing claims of alleged bribes involving the works planned for the widening and deep-dredging of the River Plate access canal Martin Garcia.

President Jose Mujica travels to Brasilia on Monday for the Mercosur extraordinary summit on Venezuela, but his agenda also includes talking with Cristina Fernandez about the latest clash referred to the dredging of a shared River Plate access canal and with host Dilma Rousseff about his growing proximity to Brazil.

Brazilian diplomats revealed during a television Globo News debate details of the controversial procedure applied by Mercosur countries to suspend Paraguay and agree the incorporation of Venezuela as full member.

The Uruguayan government announced it will auction next 3 September the seven Bombardier aircraft from the collapsed flag air-carrier Pluna, which was definitively grounded last July 5, announced Public Works and Transport minister Enrique Pintado.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica strongly defended the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur and forecasted that in a short time the country will become Uruguay’s third trade associate, behind China and Brazil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has an ambitious plan to cut his country's 3 billion dollars annual import bill for beef. He even aspires to return Russia's beef industry to its pre-revolutionary stature.

President Jose Mujica said Uruguay was going through an ‘exceptional’ period vis-à-vis the world crisis but also warned that exceptionality has limits and is not forever.

Uruguay must adopt an attitude of “serene alert” given the “uncertainty and uncommon volatility” prevailing in the world said central bank president Mario Bergara, underlining the country has reduced “vulnerabilities” considerably.

The suspension of Paraguay and the intent to incorporate Venezuela to Mercosur represent a threat to the regional integration process, said the Mercosur Federation of Rural Associations, Farm, currently meeting in Santiago de Chile.