Uruguay Defence's minister and top military leaders leave Monday for Congo to asses in situ the situation of the 1.600 Uruguayan troops from the United Nations peace contingent, most of them in the battle front of Goma, said the government in Montevideo.
A corruption network which operated in the port of Montevideo has seen three more Customs officials and a businessman sent to jail. The four and possibly others, because it's an ongoing investigation, are linked to the fish export industry.
Pulp Mill Dispute Threatens to Do Grave Damage to MERCOSUR, Which Could Then Spread to Newly-Formed UNASUR
Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez vetoed on Thursday a bill decriminalizing abortion passed earlier this week by Congress, said Tourist Minister Hector Lescano. The two Houses lack the three-fifths required vote to override the veto, he added.
Deutsche Bank anticipates a significant slowdown of the Uruguayan economy for 2009, with weakening domestic demand growth and investment plus fiscal deterioration. The German bank estimates that Uruguay's GDP will expand 10.5% in 2008 but fall back to 3% next year.
Uruguay's Senate voted this week to decriminalize abortions during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy but President Tabare Vazquez is expected to veto the measure which will be upheld by the opposition.
Uruguay and Argentina seem head on for another confrontation. Uruguay ratified it is considering the unilateral dredging of one of the two main River Plate channels it shares with Argentina to ensure the viability of huge projects which need navigational capacity for their production.
In spite of a record year in export value, Uruguay's overseas sales are beginning to feel the international pinch from a weaker demand and lower prices for commodities according to the release of the latest statistics.
The Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, Nicolas Cotugno, warned this week that those legislators who vote for abortion are ”ipso facto (by that very fact) excommunicated.”
Lower prices for food and beverage were not enough to impede Uruguay's October consumer price index from increasing 0.33% pushed by a stronger US dollar and weaker local currency.