Massive power outage hits Argentina, Uruguay: power companies

Yahoo – AFP, June 16, 2019

View of downtown Buenos Aires on June 16, 2019 during a massive power cut
(AFP Photo/Alejandro PAGNI)

Buenos Aires (AFP) - A massive outage blacked out Argentina and Uruguay on Sunday, leaving both South American countries without electricity, power companies said.

By mid-morning, streets were largely empty in a rainy Buenos Aires although some stores were open, operating with generators, while Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, was almost entirely without power with only some traffic lights working.

Uruguay's system went down at 7:06 am (1006 GMT), according to the Uruguayan power company UTE, which attributed the outage to "a fault in the Argentine network."

"The causes are being investigated and have not yet been determined," Argentina's secretariat of energy said on its Twitter account, adding it would take "some hours" to restore power completely.

Argentina, with 44 million people, and Uruguay, with 3.4 million, have a common power grid centered on the bi-national Salto Grande dam, 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of Buenos Aires.

A woman prepares milk bottles by candle lights at her home in Montevideo during 

a massive power failure (AFP Photo/MIGUEL ROJO)

Two Argentine power companies confirmed that the failure knocked out electricity throughout Argentina, without specifying the cause.

"A massive failure in the electrical interconnection system left all Argentina and Uruguay without power," Edesur Argentina said on Twitter.

Edenor, Argentina's largest electricity distributor, attributed the outage to a "general failure in the interconnection system."

UTE said the failure left Uruguay's "entire national territory without service, as well as several provinces of the neighbor country."

More than an hour after the blackout, UTE said its system was being brought back "from zero."

"Some coastal cities already have service and work continues toward general restoration (of power)," it said.

Panama Canal expansion to boost China-LatAm infrastructure cooperation

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-07-17

A view of the Panama Canal, Oct. 17, 2011. (File photo/Xinhua)

The expansion project of the Panama Canal will create more opportunities for cooperation on infrastructure between China and Latin America, a Chinese official said Monday.

The canal, which was built 101 years ago, is undergoing an expansion project of US$5 billion to allow larger modern vessels to pass through it.

Upon its completion in 2016, the canal will be able to accommodate Post-Panamax ships that are larger than Panamax ships, which is important for trade between the Americas and Asia.

A Panamax ship, determined principally by the dimensions of the canal's lock chambers, is no more than 300 meters long, no more than 33 meters wide and has a draft of no more than 12 meters deep.

Ports in Caribbean countries and other Atlantic coastal nations will therefore need to update their facilities to receive bigger vessels, which will provide new construction opportunities for Chinese companies, said Wang Jian, deputy representative of the Chinese Commercial Development Bureau in Panama.

In the Cologne harbor on the Atlantic side of the canal, a wharf expansion project constructed by China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) is about to be completed. The company is preparing for the bidding for another wharf expansion project on the Pacific side, said Wang.

The canal will be equipped with new and larger chamber locks, which enable large liquefied natural gas carriers and oil tankers to pass through it. The administration is working on a feasibility study on new docks and facilities for those vessels, according to Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano.

As a strategic passage for international shipping, the Panama Canal also faces competition from the Nicaragua Canal, now under construction, which will serve super-sized ships.

The Panama Canal Authority has invited the CHEC to participate in the construction of the fourth set of chamber locks, according to Wang Weihua, representative of the Chinese Commercial Development Bureau in Panama.

"We are studying the possibility of our participation in all canal projects, especially in the design, construction and financing of the fourth set of chamber locks," said CHEC chairman Mo Wenhe.

The canal contributes about US$1 billion a year to the Panamanian government through transit fees. China is now the second largest user of the canal, following the United States.

After the expansion, the shipping cost from China to the eastern coast of the United States will be lowered, according to the Panama Canal Authority.

Li Keqiang arrives in Brazil for official visit

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-05-19

A girl presents Li Keqiang with a bouquet on his arrival in Brazil,
May 18. (Photo/Xinhua)

The Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, arrived in Brazil Monday for an official visit at the invitation of President Dilma Rousseff.

Upon his arrival, Li said China and Brazil are influential developing countries with deep friendship, complementarity in economic structures and compatibility in development strategies, and both are striving to develop economy and improve people's livelihoods.

China, Li said, always views relations with Brazil from strategic and long-term perspectives, highly values Brazil's economic and social achievements, and is fully confident of the future of the bilateral relationship.

He said he wishes to conduct in-depth exchanges of views with Brazilian leaders on further increasing mutual political trust, deepening practical cooperation and enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges, with a focus on cooperation in production capacity, equipment manufacturing, infrastructure construction, and trade and investment.

He said he is also looking forward to communicating with the Brazilian side on issues such as BRICS cooperation, climate change, international financial cooperation and China-Latin America relations, in order to safeguard and promote the common interest of emerging-market economies and developing countries.

The premier expressed confidence that the China-Brazil comprehensive strategic partnership will be further advanced.

Latin America has made great contributions to human civilization and progress of human society and is playing a significant role in the current development of the world, Li said.

In recent years, he said, China and Latin America have made great development in their relations, establishing a comprehensive partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit and common prosperity.

Li voiced hope that his visit will enhance China-Latin America exchanges, strengthen traditional friendship, push forward cooperation in production capacity, promote two-way trade and investment, and build an upgraded version of comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation.

During his stay in Brazil, Li will hold talks with Rousseff and attend a joint press conference. The two will also attend a video ground-breaking ceremony for the ultra-high voltage electricity transmission project in the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.

Li will also meet with Brazilian parliamentary leaders and attend the closing ceremony of a bilateral business summit. He will also go to Rio de Janeiro and visit Chinese equipment manufacturing exhibitions.

Li is in Brazil now after a transit visit to Ireland. Brazil is the first stop of Li's four-nation Latin America tour, his first to the region since he assumed premiership in 2013. Besides Brazil, Li will also visit Colombia, Peru and Chile.

Venezuelan president says to build new homes in cooperation with Chinese companies

English.news.cn   2015-04-26

Venezuela to build 400,000 new homes with China's Sany, world's No.6 heavy machinery company http://t.co/nzcor8T2A1 pic.twitter.com/Etj90VZK6A
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) 26 april 2015

CARACAS, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Saturday the government will work with Chinese companies to build new housing units as part of an ambitious plan to provide homes for those without proper or adequate dwelling in the country.

During an event in the 23 de Enero slum in the west of Caracas, Maduro announced that his government has reached a preliminary agreement with Chinese company Sany Heavy Industry Co. for the latter to participate in the "Great Housing Mission" that aims to build three million homes in the Latin American country by 2019.

The government will sign a contract with Sany, the world's sixth largest heavy machinery company, to import new equipment so as to accelerate the construction of at least 400,000 new apartments this year.

"We are going at a faster pace and we have to install Chinese companies here in our country to double everything that we are bringing over from China," Maduro said.

The Venezuelan leader said that over 220 new cranes imported from China were already in use for the renovation of residential buildings in poor areas of the country, under a program called "Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor."

According to Ricardo Molina, Venezuela's minister of housing, Chinese companies have helped build over 14,000 homes in the country in the last three years and 15,000 more are now under construction.

Editor: Mengjie

Related Article:

Chinese financing boosts Sino-LatAm cooperation: Chinese envoy

Chinese financing boosts Sino-LatAm cooperation: Chinese envoy

English.news.cn   2015-04-23

BUENOS AIRES, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China's ambassador to Argentina, Yang Wanming, suggests Latin American nations make the best use of the financing offered by China as part of integral bilateral cooperation.

"The Chinese government has established a line of credit amounting to 20 billion U.S. dollars, exclusively to fund infrastructure projects in Latin American countries," said Yang, addressing a seminar on China-Argentina relations, organized by the Political, Economic and Social Studies Foundation for the New Argentina (FEPESNA) in Buenos Aires.

In addition, China has helped create the China-Latin America Cooperation Fund, financed with 5 billion U.S. dollars, and another 50 billion-dollar fund especially for joint agricultural projects between the two regions.

"I think Latin American entrepreneurs can make the most of the opportunity to strengthen their connection with their Chinese counterparts," said Yang.

The ambassador invited participants "to explore the potential for cooperation, by taking advantage of institutional mechanisms."

To that end, said Yang, China and LatAm countries are working to organize a business forum "to promote bilateral economic and investment cooperation," as well as "expand industrial cooperation" and "jointly take the global industrial chain to a higher level."

In the case of Argentina, said Yang, "many pioneering bilateral projects have been launched with the help of cooperation financing," and more opportunities lie ahead, as both two nations pursue their national development goals.

To spur economic development, "in China today we give greater importance to quality, efficiency and intensive development," said Yang. "At the same time, Argentina's government is working on modernizing, implementing the 'Argentina 2020' development strategy."

"The similarity in objectives and development orientation, as well as the complementarity of the conditions and necessities of both countries, offer Sino-Argentinean cooperation an immense market, exceptional investment opportunities and greater potentialities," said the ambassador, adding bilateral relations are expected to "move forward at great strides."

"Thanks to the parallel development of mutual investment, financial cooperation and the creation of institutional mechanisms, the economic and trade ties between the two countries have increasingly become integrated," Yang told the seminar participants.

"We are willing to continue diversifying the portfolio of imports from Argentina, and working with you to promote other businesses, to increase the added value of bilateral trade," Yang said.

Editor: Luan

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African nations face dilemma over digital switch

The UN has set June as the deadline for moving from analog to digital transmission. Only a few African countries seem prepared for the change. Even the largest television markets on the continent are lagging behind.

Deutsche Welle, 23 Feb 2015

A group of people stands near three large satellite dishes in a rural area.
Photo: John Hrusa epa dpa

Staring at a blank TV screen has become a reality for most Kenyans, and many other African TV viewers could face the same fate come June 17. That is the deadline set by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for television programs to be transmitted only digitally.

After the deadline, satellite dishes and antennas will receive their signals via a different technology. Theoretically, it will be possible to receive many more channels and enjoy improved image quality.

There is a story behind Kenya's black screens. President Uhuru Kenyatta's government ordered a consortium of four major television networks to be blocked from broadcasting in analog. This happened after they refused to change their signals to digital. The media houses argued that they were not ready yet, and now they are in court trying to push for one hundred more days to prepare for the digital transition.

Apart from Nigeria and South Africa, Kenya is one of the largest television markets in Africa.

The Standard Group,one of Kenya's leading media house, says
it needs more time for the switchover

All three countries are not ready for the switchover, says Mike Jensen, an IT specialist with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) based in South Africa. "The Kenyan situation is probably the worst-case scenario on the continent; South Africa is pretty close," Jensen said. "In Nigeria, only one state has made the switch," Jensen told DW.

Nationwide coverage after the switchover to digital broadcasting is by no means ensured in African countries. As in Kenya, it is often about money. The change is costly for governments and citizens alike, the APC states on its website, which seeks to create an awareness of the issue.

Television viewers will usually need a decoder, which costs about $50 (44 euros), to decode the digital signal. Moreover, television companies will have to dig deep into their pockets to be able to broadcast their programs using the new technology.

Tanzania a digital model

Vera Moses, a Tanzanian viewer, says she is happy with the digital reception. "The quality of the pictures is good," she told DW in an interview.

Tanzania is one of three countries that has already largely switched to wide-band Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB). "In Dar es Salaam we already switched off analog transmission at the end of 2012," John Nkoma, the director of Tanzania's Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), told DW. Most cities are now receiving programs via DVB-T, which is terrestrial digital broadcasting via antenna. The remote parts of Tanzania receive broadcasts via satellite.

Dar es Salaam has already gone digital

It took some persuasion to convince citizens and businesses of the merits of the new system, Nkoma said, as he revealed two secrets to Tanzania's success: Firstly, decoders were taxed less. "The price for the decoders is artificially low," Nkoma said, "so they have become affordable." Tanzanians can get a decoder for $30.

Secondly, user habits were taken into consideration. "The public was used to free-to-air channels, so we required that in the digital broadcasting platform there would be the five popular channels of this country and those would be available as free channels." Viewers whose subscriptions expire would have these five channels to fall back on.

Market interests

But according to APC's Mike Jensen, that is not the whole story. Tanzania and neighboring Rwanda had forced the switchover on the public by shutting off the analog signal. Of course, there were citizens in both countries who simply could not afford the necessary equipment, Jensen said.

He thinks governments should guarantee a realistic compensation for the costs. The price of a decoder, Jensen said, was also a big issue in Mauritius. The government ordered large amounts of cheap decoders from China. Many of which had defects.

Satellite transmission is also to be digitalized

Jensen also does not understand the date the ITU has chosen. He estimates that by then only six countries may succeed in formally completing the switchover.

Germany has already changed to digital broadcasting, and so have most of the other industrialized nations. But Latin America has planned the switchover for as late as 2020.

Jensen says African telecommunications companies pushed for the early date for Africa. These companies, he said, were the only ones to profit from such a date, because they wanted to monopolize television broadcasting.

Argentina appoints new judge as Kirchner visits China

Argentina's judiciary has appointed a Holocaust studies judge to take over the probe into Buenos Aires' 1994 Jewish center bombing. Daniel Rafecas will replace prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was fatally shot last month.

Deutsche Welle, 5 Feb 2015

Rafecas, whose studies have earned him awards from three Argentine Jewish groups, takes over after revelations that Nisman had wanted President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner arrested for allegedly trying to shield Iranian bombing suspects.

Kirchner, who's due to complete her trade trip to China on Thursday, raised eyebrows on Wednesday with a controversial tweet in which she mimicked Chinese accent stereotypes.

Many recipients accused her of making a racist tweet.

She later apologized, saying that she currently faced "ridiculousness" that could only be "digested with humor."

Draft warrant found

While arriving in China on Tuesday, the Argentinean prosecutor looking into Nisman's mysterious death, Viviana Fein, admitted that a draft warrant for Kirchner's arrest, dated June 2014, had been found in Nisman's apartment.

Nisman, 51, was found dead in his apartment bathroom in Buenos Aires on January 18, hours before he was due to brief Argentine lawmakers on the 1994 bombing that left 85 people dead and 300 wounded.

Four days before that briefing he had filed a 300-page report accusing Iran of ordering the attack via the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah and claiming that Kirchner and other senior Argentine officials had shielded Iranian suspects in exchange for oil.

Fein told a press conference on Wednesday that she had cancelled a planned vacation from mid-February to proceed with her probe uninterrupted.

Kirchner, who has been president since 2007, has vehemently denied accusations in the widening affair.

Two Argentine nuclear plants planned

In Beijing on Wednesday, Argentine and Chinese officials signed 15 trade agreements.

Kirchner said two nuclear power plants would be built in Argentina with transfer of technology from China.

China is also helping Argentina build infrastructure such as dams and railways.

Beijing recently helped Buenos Aires stabilize its peso with a currency swap as Argentina struggles to shore up its foreign reserves.

China has pledged multibillion investments in Latin America over the next five years as part of its drive to boost its influence in the region.

ipj/bk (AP, AFP, dpa)

Beijing urges Mexico to ensure Chinese firms' rights, interests

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-02-03

Hong Lei gives a press conference in Beijing, Jan. 4, 2012. (Photo/CNS)

China on Monday urged Mexico to ensure legal rights and interests of Chinese enterprises after the Mexican government suspended a high-speed railway project, in which a Chinese-led consortium was a bidder.

"We noticed the Mexican government's decision. China hopes the Mexican government can properly deal with subsequent problems, and ensure the Chinese enterprises' legal rights and interests with concrete measures," said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

A spokesperson from the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said early Monday that China regretted Mexico's decision.

The spokesperson said the Chinese enterprises had invested huge manpower and money in the project bid, and China hoped the Mexican government can properly deal with the consequences of the suspension.

The new line, which was expected to cost US$3.75 billion to build, would have connected Mexico City with the central state of Queretaro. The bid for the project was won by a group including the China Railway Construction Corporation in November, but it was soon canceled by the Mexican government for domestic reasons. Another bidding for the high-speed railway project was reopened last month.

Mexico's finance minister on Friday announced the project's "indefinite" suspension, as well as canceling a proposed trans-peninsular rail line, after the government's budget cuts for this year.

Hong Lei said Chinese enterprises are globally competitive in high speed rail technology and operation, and are increasingly going global.

The Chinese government will continue to encourage and support enterprises in this drive, he told a regular press briefing in Beijing.

The spokesman also said that cooperation between China and Mexico is in the interests of the two countries, and expressed hope that the two sides can cooperate more in future.

Sieren’s China: Beijing takes the plunge in Latin America

China’s generous investment in Latin America, including key infrastructure projects, is a geo-political chess game, but it is also high-risk, writes DW columnist Frank Sieren.

Deutsche Welle, 2 Feb 2015

In geo-political terms, the world's most significant infrastructure project can currently be found in Nicaragua. To the tune of $50 billion, the Chinese began work last December on a new canal linking the Pacific and the Atlantic. 280 kilometers long and 30 meters deep, The Nicaragua Canal will be able to accomodate ships too large for the Panama Canal, thereby bringing an end to its100-year long monopoly.

El Gran Canal is a prime example of how Beijing skillfully navigates the world stage. It uses favorable credit terms to win politically valuable contracts and major infrastructure projects that bring with them a supply of resources such as oil and natural gas, as well as foodstuffs such as corn.

The new waterway is only one of many ambitious projects that China is currently rolling out on the US doorstep. Earlier this year, Beijing hosted the first summit of the 33 countries that make up the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Despite the many landmark decisions made at the meeting, it was largely ignored by the western media.

Further investments planned

DW columnist Frank Sieren

Chinese President Xi Jinping, for example, pledged to ringfence a further $250 billion for China's partners over the next 10 years. But there's no such thing as a free lunch. In the past, Beijing approved loans in return for raw materials.

The January summit underscored a development that has been underway for a few years; namely, that China's role in Central and South America is defined less by the country's thirst for resources and more by an overall push for influence. Beijng is no longer satisfied merely with buying oil. The lion's share of its investment has been earmarked for infrastructure in the CELAC countries in a move designed to boost trade relations.

On a visit to Latin America last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping inked deals as though they were going out of fashion. Argentina got new rail projects; 29 contracts were signed in Cuba, including one for a new port, while China has now signed over 300 agreements with cooperation partner número uno, Venezuela, a country that has received loans worth over $40 billion in the last four years. Beijing is now eyeing not only Latin America's raw materials but increasingly, its markets, too.

Knocking the US off the top spot

As always, trade is no one-way street. 25 percent of Chile's exports already make their way across the Pacific; 15 percent of Brazil's and Uruguay's, while 8 percent of Colombia's and Argentina's total exports go to China. Trade volume is 20 times higher than it was at the start of the 21st century. China is now the main trade partner of Brazil, Chile and Peru, and the second main trade partner for Argentina.

It seems obvious that President Xi is aiming to replace the US as the region's trade partner, reducing its influence in the process as an added bonus. It's a goal he will most likely achieve.

Washington is hardly able to top China's generous financial injections. But it can comfort itself with the knowledge that China's strategy is a risky one. After all, the faltering economies of Latin America are failing to recover as efficiently as Beijing would like.

Other foreign investors are taking their money out of these unstable emerging economies. Inflation is rampant in Brazil, the region's largest economy. The economies of Argentina and Venezuela shrunk in the last quarters. If these markets don't get back on track, the flurry of Chinese investment could start to tail off fast. But after the recent summit in Beijing, the aforementioned countries can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. Beijing hasn't lost its patience yet. But it's setting higher prices for its geopolitical gains. These, however, shouldn't be underestimated.

DW columnist Frank Sieren has lived in Beijing for 20 years.

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"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... South America and the New Energy

South America is starting to consider the same thing. My partner was just there and I allowed him to see the energy of the potential future in that land.

I would like to paint history for you regarding South America. There was a time when every single country had a dictator. Less than 15 years ago, they had failing economies and currencies that were worthless. Trouble and strife and killings were the norm. Marauding drug lords openly killed in the streets and corruption was everywhere. Even the politicians created fear and many disappeared overnight, never to be seen again. Today it isn't that way. Today, there is an ongoing stability as one country after another brings a new, positive, stable energy to their cultures. So, without a concentrated effort by any kind of multi-national leadership or direction, how could this have changed in only 15 years?

Within the entire continent, there's only one dictator left. What's happening? If you think that's amazing, there is a move afoot that you're not going to hear about yet. But they're discussing it right now, so let me tell you what they're thinking. "What would happen if we took these countries and eliminated the borders?" Sound familiar? They're talking about it. In back rooms where nobody is reporting it, they're saying, "What about a plan of eventually having one currency from the top of Columbia to the bottom of Chile? And we would be strong and we would be unified." And dear ones, I'm here to tell you, that it's going to work, and it might not take 50 years. Soon the one dictator will be gone, and the unification can begin.

There's a shift happening on this planet.. ...."

Infighting cost China's high-speed rail project in Mexico

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-11-11

Mexico's transportation minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, fourth left, and dignitaries
 at a press event held on Nov. 4 to announce the contract between Mexico and
China Railway Construction Corporation. (File photo/Xinhua)

The Mexican government's cancellation of a US$4 billion deal with a Chinese-led consortium for the construction of a high-speed railway line can be attributed to political infighting, a source close to Mexico's opposition party told Shanghai's China Business News on Nov. 9.

Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation announced on Nov. 6 that it will annul a contract to build a high-speed rail line linking Mexico City and Queretaro due to public concerns about the bidding process.

China's state-run China Railway Construction (CRC) Corp, the leader of a consortium of six companies that had won the rail project, declared itself extremely shocked by Mexico's decision.

Previously, the Mexican government had announced that CRC won the rail project bid as part of a consortium of six companies, including state-owned train car maker CSR Corp. The other four companies in the consortium are Mexican.

The turnaround is unrelated to any external factors but is mainly a result of Mexico's economic stagnation and social problems. Given the situation, the strong push for the project could tarnish the government's image, the source told the newspaper.

The Mexican economy grew only 1.1% in 2013, far lower than the levels seen during the last few years.

In addition, protesters' calls for justice have reached every corner of the country following the government's announcement that 43 college students missing since September were killed by a drug gang and their bodies burned on a pyre of branches and tires.

The crisis has also forced Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto to cut short his upcoming trips to China and Australia.

Because of the growing popular discontent over the case, the Mexican Congress even considered voting to ban the president from making foreign visits, a source said.

Moreover, some Mexican opposition senators have expressed doubts about possible corruption in the bidding process for the high-speed rail project as they deem a Mexican company's background suspicious, the source added.

The deal was therefore canceled after some senators asked for an explanation from the minister of communications and transportation as to why only the Chinese-led consortium was the sole bidder for such a big rail project and why all the biggest infrastructure projects launched have been won by "good friends" of the ruling party.

China joins plans to build 'Panama Canal on land'

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-08-02

Containers at the Port of Piraeus. (File photo/Xinhua)

China has recently agreed to join in the construction of a railway linking the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, running through the world's most important shipping routes, including Pakistan, Myanmar, the Silk Road economic belt and Greece's Piraeus Port, the Guangzhou-based Southern Weekend reports.

On July 23, China's president, Xi Jinping, ended his 10-day visit to Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba. During the visits, China, Brazil and Peru jointly announced that the three nations will launch a railway project linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This is the largest railway project launched by Chinese leaders during their overseas trips.

The rail would begin from the coastal cities of Peru and end on Brazil's coast, extending more than 3,000 kilometers.

It is not the first time such a railway project has been mentioned. Back to 2011, Columbia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, said in an interview with the Financial Times that Columbia planned to cooperate with China in jointly building a railway linking the two oceans, but the news stopped there.

The July announcement didn't give details for the railway project, but what can be certain is that the project aims to break the monopolistic position of the Panama Canal controlled by the United States, making the railway the "Panama Canal on land" to help China take a more active position in linking with Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Ocean.

Currently, shipping is the world's most important cross-country transport way, while the three major shipping throats — Asia's Strait of Malacca, the Suez Canal between Asia and Africa, and the Panama Canal separating North America and South America — are all controlled by the international political and economic systems led by the US.

It's not the first time China has tried to break the US monopoly, but the railway project can be seen as a key move, reconfirming the nation's integrity in forging a strategic global transport network.

For the long run, the Nicaragua Canal has been seen as an option to replace the Panama Canal, with the western media having made reports about China's possible cooperation with Nicaragua to build up the Nicaragua Canal. But this project might have more barriers as the two sides have yet to forge diplomatic ties — Nicaragua recognizes the Republic of China on Taiwan.

Although China and Columbia's cooperation to build a railway linking with Atlantic and Pacific oceans has so far no new progress, it does not mean the two will eventually give up the plan.

China to lend Argentina billions for power and rail projects

The Chinese premier has signed landmark finance and loan deals while on a two-day visit to Argentina. The agreements offer the South American country some stability for its troubled financial status.

Deutsche Welle, 19 July 2014

Making the first visit by a Chinese premier to Argentina in ten years, President Xi Jinping and Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez signed multi-billion dollar deals in Buenos Aires on Friday at a time when Argentina is unable to raise funds on capital markets due to disputes over unpaid debt.

"It's a day we can define as foundational in the relations between our two countries," Fernandez said. The two leaders signed a three-year agreement for an $11 billion (8.13 billion-euro) swap operation between the two countries' central banks, allowing Argentina to pay for Chinese imports with the yuan unit of currency. The deal is similar to one signed between China and Argentina in 2009.

Fernandez said the deal between the two central banks could offer "stability in exchange rates at the moment. We are, as a country, suffering speculative attacks by vulture funds." Argentina has been unable to access international capital markets since a default in 2002 and its currency reserves are at their lowest since November 2006, at $30 billion.

Among nineteen agreements being signed during the Chinese premier's two day visit, Argentina is to borrow $4.7 billion from the China Development Bank for the construction of two hydroelectric dams in Patagonia. A $2.1 billion loan will help finance a long-delayed railway project to transport grains from Argentine farms to ports. Argentina is the third-largest exporter of soy and corn in the world. China is the main buyer of its soybeans.

China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner after Brazil. Bilateral trade rose to $17.3 billion last year. Argentina's trade deficit with China widened 9 percent from the previous year to $5.4 billion in 2013.

jm/mz (Reuters, dpa)

Vehicles crushed as World Cup bridge collapses

An unfinished overpass has collapsed onto vehicles in the Brazil's southeastern World Cup city of Belo Horizonte. At least two were killed and 19 injured.

Deutsche Welle, 4 July 2014

The overpass collapsed on Thursday, around two kilometers (three miles) from the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, where World Cup games are being played.

Television images showed the front of a yellow passenger bus crushed under a large stretch of the fallen highway. Officials said other vehicles were also crushed.

The health agency of the state of Minas Gerais said two people were killed and 19 injured. Fire spokesman Edgard Estevo da Silva said one of the dead was the woman driver of the bus, adding that 13 people were rescued unscathed.

"We were traveling normally and then there was a terrible noise," said Renata Soares, who said she was a passenger on the bus.

"I am sure that more people in other cars were underneath the debris," Soares told Brazil's GloboNews TV.

Da Silva said two trucks belonging to the bridge's construction company were also hit, but no one was inside them.

Unfinished part of Cup roading network

The overpass was part of a network of bus lanes that was supposed to be finished before the World Cup began, but which was not finished on time. The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.

A worker died last month in Sao Paulo after a 90-tonne beam fell during the construction of a monorail project.

There have been sometimes violent protests in Brazil regarding the government's heavy spending on the World Cup and long delays on infrastructure projects, although unrest has quietened in recent weeks.

The stadium in Belo Horizonte, near to where Thursday's accident occurred, has hosted five World Cup matches and will be the venue of a semi-final next Tuesday.

jr/ipj (Reuters, AFP)

Rescue workers try to reach vehicles. Photograph: / Reuters

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Overpass in Brazil's World Cup host city collapses on to vehicles below