Stories for August 2009

Monday, August 31st 2009 - 09:15 UTC
Gentoos top the penguin charts as seabirds return in record numbers

Gentoo penguins are returning to the Falklands in record numbers, after their best breeding season in more than ten years. Kings, too, continue to thrive, making this season’s Seabird Monitoring Programme one of the healthiest undertaken. Falklands Conservation officer Pierre Pistorius has produced this special report for the Penguin News…
Monday, August 31st 2009 - 08:00 UTC
Third “expedition cruise” vessel for Australis from Punta Arenas

The Chilean cruise company Cruceros Australis which operates from Punta Arenas is having a third vessel built in Valdivia which should be operational for the 2010/2011 season, according to Branco Ivelic, manager of Cruise Operations.
Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:48 UTC
Wheat production is Argentina down, and booming in Brazil

Helped by the Argentine administrations of the Kirchner couple, Brazil is catching up with Argentina as Latinamerica’s main producer of wheat. This year Brazil will be planting only 200.000 hectares less than its Mercosur partner which this winter crop is down to 2.75 million hectares.
Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:46 UTC
China surpasses Germany as the world’s largest exporter

China has become the world's largest exporter surpassing Germany, the World Trade Organization has said. China displaced Germany, which held the No.1 slot since 2003, by a slim margin of 100 million US dollars after exporting goods worth 521.7 billion USD in the first half of 2009.
Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:33 UTC
Brazil announces sweeping reforms for oil and gas industry

The Brazilian government is set to unveil on Monday a sweeping reform of regulations covering the oil and natural gas industries Monday. The regulatory framework will delineate how recently discovered offshore sub-salt oil deposits should be developed, who will develop them and who will reap the rewards.
Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:31 UTC
Uribe avoided condemnation in Bariloche but could not escape H1N1 flu

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has the H1N1 virus, according to official sources. The Presidency's Information and Press Secretary of Colombia, César Mauricio Velásquez, read an official release Sunday saying that Uribe has the virus, while National Health Institute sources from Bogotá confirmed the diagnosis. Social Welfare Minister Diego Palacio said Uribe is responding well to treatment.
Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:08 UTC
Japanese couple, best tango dancers of world competition in Argentina

The Japanese couple Kyoto and Hiroshi Yamao won on Saturday night the Buenos Aires World Tango Salon category during a competition with the participation of sixty couples from the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Sunday, August 30th 2009 - 22:28 UTC
China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean

On November 5, 2008, the Chinese government released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, as it had previously done so for Europe in 2003 and for Africa in 2006.
Sunday, August 30th 2009 - 22:09 UTC
'Major win' for Japan opposition

A historic election win by Japan's opposition Democratic Party on Sunday is likely to buoy Tokyo shares on hopes for less policy deadlock, putting pressure on Japanese government bonds and the yen.
Sunday, August 30th 2009 - 22:02 UTC
US Senator Kennedy laid to rest

Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of US senator Edward Kennedy, who was a political force in America for over 47 years.