Stories for January 25th 2010
Women make up half of the new Bolivian ministerial cabinet
Bolivia’s president Evo Morales began his second mandate with a cabinet reshuffle removing most ministers and complying with the gender parity. The announcement was done over the weekend following his second consecutive inauguration ceremony last Friday.
Venezuela could hold world’s largest oil reserves, says US Geological Survey
A new US assessment of Venezuela's oil reserves could give the country double the supplies of Saudi Arabia. Scientists working for the US Geological Survey say Venezuela's Orinoco belt region holds twice as much petroleum as previously thought.
The geologists estimate the area could yield more than 500 billion barrels of crude oil.
Brazil and Argentina, first countries president elect Piñera will visit
Brazil and Argentina are the first countries to be visited by Chilean president-elect Sebastián Piñera, who added he will accept invitations from Spain and France and anticipated one of his first actions would be to de-freeze relations with neighbouring Peru.
Chile and Argentina consolidate bilateral integration and cooperation
Chile announced that the “Integration and Cooperation” agreement with Argentina, which was stamped by Presidents Cristina Kirchner and Michelle Bachelet last October 30, became effective as of Friday January 22nd.
Lula da Silva’s closest advisor denies a repeat of Chilean scenario in Brazil
President Lula da Silva’s main advisor in international affairs Marco Aurelio Garcia brushed aside the idea that Brazil could repeat a scenario like that of Chile in the last elections, when the opposition defeated the ruling coalition.
White House confident of Bernanke’s confirmation at the Federal Reserve
The White House says it is confident of Ben Bernanke's confirmation as Federal Reserve chairman for a second term.
Hope for Haiti Now telethon raises 58 million US dollars
More than 58 million US dollars have been raised through the all-star Hope for Haiti Now telethon, according to organizers.
Chavez forces television stations off the air for not broadcasting his speeches
Six television stations including opposition RCTV (Radio Caracas TeleVision) were forced off the air on Sunday for not broadcasting President Hugo Chavez' speeches. The new rules passed in December require stations to air Chavez's speeches, among other mandates.
Brazil hands to Argentina Colonel accused of human rights abuses
Brazil has extradited to Argentina a retired Uruguayan army colonel to face charges of human rights abuses dating back to military rule in the Southern cone countries during the 1970s.
Argentina’s Central bank stand-off: police to block access of Redrado
Argentine central bank President Martin Redrado vowed to stay in his post until Congress considers a government decree firing him for not setting aside 6.6 billion US dollars in reserves to pay debt due this year.
