Latin America

• Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Lesbians take on Santiago, Chile

  

  Feminist lesbians from 18 different countries in Latin America took to the streets of Santiago this weekend to protest against the institutionalized homophobia that still exists in many parts of the continent. About 200 lesbian activists had been participating in the Seventh Latin American and Caribbean Lesbian feminist Conference, the first to take place in Chile.

• Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela may control food distribution

  

  President Hugo Chavez's government has drafted a decree allowing it to take control of food distribution chains, possibly including supermarkets and storage depots, if services are interrupted, officials said Sunday.

• Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile faces “aging population” challenge

  Chile's birth rate has dropped substantially from 3.5% in 1962 to just 1.6% today. And with the country's “baby boom” generation (1957—1962) turning grey, Chile could face a future crisis of social care and pension payments.

• Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Ecuador delays debt payment and readies for political battle

  

  Ecuador's new administration of President Rafael Correa that has threatened to default on the country's debt, will use a 30-day grace period to make a payment that is due this week, Deputy Economy Minister Fausto Ortiz told reporters in Quito.

• Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Several cases of dengue fever on Easter Island

  

  Three new cases of Dengue Fever (DF) were reported last weekend on Easter Island, a Chilean outpost in the South Pacific. Two men and one woman, both native islanders, were found to be infected with the disease.

• Saturday, February 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela - Iran to begin direct flights

  

  Iran's national airline will begin direct flights to Venezuela next month in another sign of the two nations' increasingly close ties.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile: Fishing boats detained in Peruvian waters

  

  Two Chilean fishing boats were detained near the Los Palos beach in the Peruvian province of Tacna after they were caught fishing in Peruvian waters. The boats returned to Santiago on Thursday morning. The case, still under investigation, forms another chapter in the ongoing of the tug-of-war between Chile and Peru over their maritime borders.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Bush administration pushes for FTA with Colombia and Peru

  

  United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week requested from Congress the ratification of the Free Trade Agreements, FTA, which the White House has signed with Peru and Colombia.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela and US energy corporation reach understanding

  

  The Venezuelan government and United States AES Corporation signed Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the purchase of AES's 82.14% stake in La Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) for 739.3 million US dollars.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Growing mineral exports boost Peruvian economy

  Peru's Central Bank raised the country's economic growth forecast for 2007 from 5.7 to 6.8%, following a 7.9% expansion in 2006, which was the highest since 1995.