Buenos Aires airports re-open after eruption-caused flights cancellation

BUENOS AIRES, June 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The airports of Argentine capital
on Friday resumed operation after the cancellation of flights due to the
eruption of the Chilean volcano Puyehue.
The wind had brought a new cloud of volcanic dust, so the air
terminals of Buenos Aires were closed for more than a day, which led to
the cancellation of more than 300 flights. Airlines have now resumed
passenger services, but the air links will be completely restored only by
the beginning of next week.
The closure of airports in the Argentine capital has made adjustments
not only to the plans of ordinary citizens. In particular, the president
of Uruguay, Jose Mujica was forced to drop his scheduled visit to Buenos
Aires. Also, a meeting of the Union of South American nations was
canceled. And well-known Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin was unable to
return to the United States and had to extend his stay in the Argentine
capital, where he had arrived for the presentation of his new album.
The local authorities are closely monitoring the Chilean volcano
eruption, which is expected to cease in the coming days. Its activity is
already on the decline. The Puyehue volcano, 2,240 meters tall, is on the
Chilean side of the Andes. Last time it erupted in 1960 after a major
earthquake with a magnitude 9.5. Last Saturday, the volcano woke up and
began spewing a column of smoke 8-10 kilometers high. About four thousand
residents of nearby villages were quickly evacuated to safety. They have
not been allowed to return to their homes yet.

.African Development Bank OKs 500 mln dlr loan to Tunisia.

TUNIS, June 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The African Development Bank (ADB) has
approved the disbursement of a 500-million-dollar loan to the interim
government of Tunisia to be used to cover the state budget deficit, ADB
President Donald Kaberuka said on Friday. He added that by the end of this
year the bank intended to allocate another 500 million dollars for Tunisia.
The decision on joint support for post-revolutionary Tunisia,
experiencing economic problems was made in early May by the World Bank and
the ADB, which pledged to extend no less than one billion dollars to that
North African country. The European Union and the French Development
Agency joined afterwards.
Later, the leaders of the Group of Eight agreed on the allocation to
Tunisia and Egypt of more than 20 billion dollars between 2011 and 2013
for the repayment of the debts of these North African countries, for
reform and for the improvement of the investment climate. Assistance will
be provided through international development banks, including the
European Investment Bank.