Seven South American countries agreed to establish Banco del Sur, a regional development bank championed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in an effort to expand regional trade and growth with their own resources.
President Michelle Bachelet opened the 8th annual Biarritz Forum Monday with a speech urging unity across Chile's social and political sectors. The President welcomed business leaders and government officials from across Latin America and Europe to the annual conference, held this year at the Casa de Piedra in Santiago's Vitacura borough.
The US dollar continued on Tuesday its rapid erosion and closed at 498 Chilean pesos, its lowest value against the local currency since 1999. So far this year the Chilean peso has appreciated 6.41% against the US dollar compared to 3.95% for the twelve months of 2006.
BHP Billiton announced Tuesday first oil production from the Genghis Khan development, located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, approximately 192 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana. The Company, with co-venturers Hess and Repsol YPF, acquired its interest in Genghis Khan in February 2007 for US$1.33 billion ($583 million net to BHP Billiton).
Argentine Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said if elected president her administration would discard monetarist and neo-liberal solutions to combat any outbreak of inflation, which has become the main campaign issue of those opposing her husband President Nestor Kirchner.
The European Union may resort to a ban on Brazilian meat imports if the country does not improve food safety standards, the European Union's health chief said on Tuesday addressing members of the European Parliament.
In a change from the norm, the annual South Georgia government Fisheries Science Cruise was conducted in winter this year instead of the summer.
A court in Argentina on Tuesday sentenced a former Roman Catholic police chaplain to life imprisonment for collaborating in murders during the country's military dictatorship. Christian Von Wernich, 69, was convicted for involvement in seven murders, 42 abductions and 31 cases of torture during the 1976-83 Dirty War.
Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias declared victory Sunday in his drive to join a free trade deal with the United States, announcing on television that voters had backed it in a referendum.
Chilean government spokesperson Ricardo Lagos Webber denied Sunday allegations that the government was deliberately persecuting Augusto Pinochet's widow and five children. His remarks come after Pinochet's eldest daugherâ€who, along with her four siblings, was released on bail Fridayâ€charged that the family had been held in the so-called Riggs Bank case as political prisoners.