Latin America

• Friday, September 2nd 2011 - 03:32 UTC

  Iconic Chilean student leader meets Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff

  

  Before the planned meeting with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera next Saturday, Chilean student leader Camila Vallejo met with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in Brasília on Wednesday to discuss the problems facing the Brazilian and Chilean higher education systems.

• Thursday, September 1st 2011 - 08:14 UTC

  Food prices inflation in Latin America increases sustainedly says FAO

  

  Annual food inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 8.7% in July almost one full percentage point above the previous month according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO.

• Thursday, September 1st 2011 - 02:48 UTC

  US effort to track gun-smuggling to Mexico ends in failure and major scandal

  

  The acting director of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the US attorney in Arizona are resigning over a botched operation to track the flow of guns to Mexico.The ATF' Kenneth Melson had recently faced pressure by Congress to resign.

• Thursday, September 1st 2011 - 02:30 UTC

  Argentina, with Brazilian support proposes a South American Space agency

  

  Argentina proposed this week in Brazil the creation of a South American Space Agency, an initiative which was supported by host Brazil during a Defence seminar in Sao Paulo.

• Thursday, September 1st 2011 - 02:00 UTC

  Chile will support Palestine state in UN vote but abstains from boundaries controversy

  

  Chile will support the recognition of Palestine as a state in the event Palestine applies for admission during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly in late September, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno, who met with 15 Congress members earlier this week.

• Thursday, September 1st 2011 - 01:55 UTC

  Piñera to address Chilean students’ demands on Saturday in Government House

  

  After much deliberation, Chilean Education Minister Felipe Bulnes agreed to meet with student leaders this Saturday, Sept. 3, to discuss their demands. The meeting is to take place in the La Moneda presidential palace, and will be hosted by President Sebastián Piñera himself.

• Wednesday, August 31st 2011 - 19:49 UTC

  US doctors performed STD experiments with Guatemala patients killing at least 83

  

  Medical experiments performed by United States doctors deliberately infected more than 1,000 Guatemalans vulnerable patients with syphilis and gonorrhoea in the late 1940s, killing 83 of them, a US presidential panel said this week.

• Wednesday, August 31st 2011 - 19:45 UTC

  Panama has an estimated 900 million barrels of oil in two basins, confirm surveys

  

  Some 900 million barrels of oil have been detected at two basins in eastern Panama, representing a potential contribution to the country’s coffers of 15 billion dollars over 20 years, the National Energy Secretariat announced.

• Wednesday, August 31st 2011 - 19:40 UTC

  Venezuela economy expands 2.5% in 2Q, down from 4.8% in first quarter

  

  Venezuela’s second quarter (2Q) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 2.5%, below the expectations of the Government and below the first quarter GDP’s 4.8% rate, probably indicating that the Government’s effort to prop the economy via fiscal spending is losing steam.

• Wednesday, August 31st 2011 - 19:37 UTC

  Colombia Defence minister resigns; deep reshuffle in forces anticipated

  

  Colombia's Defence Minister Rodrigo Rivera resigned Wednesday amid growing criticism of the security forces and increasing attacks by the narco-terrorist rebel groups in the country. Last week it was also revealed that the number of ‘disappeared’ in Colombia is almost 62.000.