South America

On the 2nd and 3rd of August, the Argentinean province of San Juan was the venue for the 39th meeting of the board of the Common Market and Summit of the Leaders of MERCOSUR and Associated States . The main achievement was the Customs Code “a document, a very important piece of regional legislation”, which has been agreed, and which is the result of six years of work.

Bolivian President Evo Morales will travel to Johannesburg on Wednesday to attend South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony.
After confirming on Tuesday his presence at FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Morales stressed the importance of sports for health, integration, and discipline.
The Bolivian president also will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

During the recent visit by Silo to the Park of Study and Reflection: Los Manantiales, located 70 kilometres north of Santiago de Chile, a profound hope was installed deep in the hearts of all those who heard his words from the Meditation Hall. “We believe,” he said, “a new spiritual horizon is being born in the world.”

From the time when the human being was first able to produce fire and could count on this source of energy to cook food, defend the entrances of the caves where they lived, warm themselves and illuminate the night, and then raise the temperature in ovens and kilns that allowed the making of pottery, melting of metals, working with glass… up to the creation of life.

This Saturday is Nuclear Abolition Day — a global day of action to abolish nuclear weapons, and the opportunity to respond to the Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference outcome. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today sent a video message of encouragement, which can be seen at [www.nuclearabolition.org](www.nuclearabolition.org)

On June 5, 2010, thousands of people across the world will take part in coordinated local events to mark Nuclear Abolition Day. The message is simple: it’s time for governments to begin negotiating a Nuclear Weapons Convention to ban all nuclear weapons.
In some countries, protests will take place outside government buildings or at nuclear facilities.

Crossing the frontier and producing synthetic life for the first time, the discovery by a group of U.S. scientists, opens many areas of application while leaving open a new horizon for what we consider typical of the human being: the ability to make life. This is an extraordinary discovery that opens up the hope of better understanding the basic mechanisms that drive all life.

The moment so feared, so desired, so imagined, has arrived; the moment when the human being – by creating life – is transformed into God. The Science Journal of May 20 gives the news of the first synthetic cell, a cell completely controlled by artificial DNA. “A cell that changes the definition of what is meant by ‘life’.”

The Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP) joined Mayors for Peace during their General Meeting held in Florianopolis, south of Brazil, on April 26 and 27th. In the motion adopted by the FNP the Brazilian Association of Local Governments encourages its members to join individually. During the conference 29 Brazilian Mayors were welcomed as new members.

The leader of the Colombian Green Party, Antanas Mockus, reached a technical tie in popularity rating with his most dangerous rival in the presidential race, and stated his goal is to win in first electoral round. A poll by the National Consultancy Center and CM News revealed that Mockus has climbed considerably in voting intentions.