Uruguay’s leading newspaper dedicated its Sunday’s editorial to the recent incident when the Argentine Navy, in shared Uruguayan-Argentine waters, forced a small merchant vessel linked to the Falklands/Malvinas Islands to identify itself and provide all the information related to cargo and destination.
Tens of thousands of Uruguayans took to the streets of Montevideo defying freezing weather and polar gusts to cheer and honour the ‘sky blue’ national team which came back from South Africa with a fourth place and striker Diego Forlan with the Golden Ball as the World’s Cup's best player.
Diego Forlan thumped his right boot against the advertising hoarding in Suwon. The 23-year-old striker's frustration was understandable. He had just spurned a glorious chance to score for Uruguay against Senegal. It was ultimately one that cost his country a 4-3 victory and a place in the Round of 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan.
Montevideo’s first woman and Communist elected mayor, Ana Olivera took office on Friday promising to streamline the overweight administration of Uruguay’s capital and in six months, a spic-and-span city.
“The ball is now on the Argentine court” said Uruguayan Vice-president Danilo Astori commenting on the country’s counterproposal for the monitoring plan to be jointly applied with Argentina to pulp mills, other industries and urban locations straddling the shared River Uruguay.
Uruguayan merchant and naval shipping is under continuous harassment from the Argentine Navy in South Atlantic international waters, a new chapter of the difficult relations between the neighbouring countries, reports Montevideo’s main daily El Pais, quoting undisclosed Parliament sources.
Argentina’s Foreign Affairs minister Héctor Timerman cautioned that the dispute with Uruguay over the Botnia/UPM pulp mill and its environmental impact can’t be seen as “a football match where one side wins and the other looses”, but rather as a situation where “the peoples of both countries benefit”.
Uruguay will reply next week Argentina’s proposal for the joint monitoring of the River Uruguay, said Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro after holding a three hours meeting with his visiting counterpart Hector Timerman.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he expects the four Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to meet in the semi-finals of the World Cup in South Africa.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force's (RMAF) F-5E jet engines reported stolen two years ago have been brought back to the country from Uruguay.