Latin America

• Tuesday, May 1st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuela Set To Gain Control Of Its Oil Fields

  

  Venezuela's military might will be on full display on Tuesday as Hugo Chávez, the country's president and a former paratrooper, celebrates winning back Venezuela's natural resources in the oil-rich Orinoco for the people.

• Tuesday, May 1st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  South America's power players jockey for regional position

  Known for military strongmen, Latin America has mostly embraced peace since the end of the 1980s era of right-wing dictatorships. Now flush with profits from a commodities boom, however, many Latin American countries are beefing up their military capabilities as they seek to ascend the ranks of regional power players.

• Tuesday, May 1st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Santiago de Chile skies reach dangerous levels pollution

  Santiaguinos stuck in the city for the long weekend faced the first environmental alerts of the year after an increased level of air contamination was detected on Friday night. The contamination alerts were issued for Saturday and Sunday.

• Tuesday, May 1st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Sierra Club joins campaign to protect Chile's Patagonia

  

  Opponents of plans to construct several massive hydroelectric dams in Chile's northern Patagonia region are welcoming a new and very influential ally: the Sierra Club.

• Tuesday, May 1st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Former Chilean president named special envoy on climate change

  

  The former president of Chile, the first woman Prime Minister of Norway and the President of the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly were named on Monday Special Envoys for Climate Change by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has made the issues one of his top priorities.

• Tuesday, May 1st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez threatens with leaving OAS if Venezuela is condemned

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has threatened withdrawal from the Organization of American States, OAS, if Venezuela is condemned over the case of the private television station, Radio Caracas Television, RCTV.

• Monday, April 30th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Peruvian miners strike threatens global supply of metals

  

  An indefinite national strike by mine workers in Peru has spread to half the industry threatening to disrupt global supplies of metals such as copper, zinc and gold after weekend talks with the government failed of which Peru is a leading global exporter.

• Monday, April 30th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Portal with 400 governance indicators on Latinamerica

  

  The Inter-American Development Bank unveiled DataGob, an innovative portal that offers access to some 400 governance indicators, covering topics as varied as support for democracy, the cost of starting a business, wastefulness in government spending and police corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions of the world.

• Monday, April 30th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Aysen earthquake tremors confront SalmonChile and environmentalists

  

  The President of the Chilean Salmon Industry Association A.G. (SalmonChile), Cesar Barros, rejected comments from several sectors including environmentalists, regarding alleged responsibilities of the industry in the missing persons as a result of the earthquake in Aysen, Saturday April 21st.

• Sunday, April 29th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez hopes to gradually sell off refineries in US

  

  President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela hopes to gradually sell off its refineries in the United States and build a new network of refineries in Latin America, part of a plan to offer his leftist allies in the region a stable oil supply