Latin America

• Monday, May 23rd 2016 - 10:50 UTC

  New recommendations for athletes and visitors of the coming Rio Olympic Games

  

  Australian athletes at this summer’s Rio Olympics will be supplied with condoms which offer “near complete” protection against the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced. However, the virus has been linked to a birth defect that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads.

• Saturday, May 21st 2016 - 08:26 UTC

  Maduro admits to being mad as a hatter, but “crazy love” for Venezuela and the revolution

  

  Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro admitted he “was mad as a hatter”, but “mad with love” for Venezuela, the Bolivarian revolution and for the deceased leader Hugo Chavez, in a clear reference to previous statements, without mentioning him, of Uruguayan ex president Jose Mujica.

• Saturday, May 21st 2016 - 08:17 UTC

  Argentina nominates Susana Malcorra candidate for UN Secretary General post

  

  President Mauricio Macri on Friday made official the nomination of Susana Malcorra as a candidate to the post of United Nations Secretary General, underlining that the diplomatic experience of the Argentine foreign minister will contribute to provide “creative solutions” to the challenges faced by the UN organization.

• Saturday, May 21st 2016 - 08:07 UTC

  Argentina, Chile and Uruguay appeal for an urgent political dialogue in Venezuela

  

  Argentina, Chile and Uruguay in a joint statement released on Friday, called for political dialogue in Venezuela and offered to help with a “national reunion” of the political and social forces of the country. The appeal, with utmost respect for the principle of non interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela, was made extensive to the government, the National Assembly, under opposition control, and all political and social groups.

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 16:37 UTC

  US supports Temer: “there has been a clear and undeniable respect for democratic institutions”

  

  United States ambassador before the Organization of American States, OAS, dismissed the notion that a coup is underway in Brazil and openly rejected concern voiced by other member states such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 11:16 UTC

  Brazil's economic interests will prevail over ideological goals, says new foreign minister

  

  The foreign minister for Brazil's new government following the suspension of president Dilma Rousseff said that Brasilia will now pursue economic interests over ideological goals. Jose Serra, nominated by acting president Michel Temer in the wake of Rousseff's suspension for an impeachment trial, signaled that Brazil would no longer be part of the loose left/leaning alliance that exists across several Latin American countries.

• Thursday, May 19th 2016 - 08:32 UTC

  Mujica says Maduro is “mad as a hatter” and everybody in Venezuela “have gone nuts”

  

  Uruguayan ex president Jose Mujica said on Wednesday that in Venezuela “everybody has gone nuts” and president Nicolas Maduro is “mad as a hatter”. The former leader was reacting to the controversy between his former foreign minister and now OAS secretary general, Luis Almagro and Maduro.

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 21:42 UTC

  Falkland Islands' biosecurity officers thwart Argentine ant army invasion

  

  By Ross James, Biosecurity Officer for Penguin News - An Argentine army, thousands strong invaded the Falklands recently, and their arrival went unnoticed for several weeks before the alarm was raised. The Argentine Ants arrived aboard a yacht which had sailed non-stop around the world from Australia, non-stop that is until huge waves swept the singlehanded 78 year-old sailor overboard and capsized his yacht as he rounded Cape Horn. In a stroke of luck a subsequent wave righted the vessel and at the same time the sailor was able to pull himself back aboard.

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 21:35 UTC

  Urban unemployment in Latin America to increase 7% this year, says ECLAC

  

  Urban unemployment in Latin America will hit 7% this year, growing 0.5 percent point from last year’s 6.5% rate, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said in a joint report — a drop linked to the region’s lower growth.

• Monday, May 16th 2016 - 18:52 UTC

  April FAO Food Price Index 10% below a year ago; South America soy prospects less favorable

  

  The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 151.8 points in April 2016, up 1.1 points (0.7 percent) from March, but almost 10 percent below its April 2015 level. A relatively strong rise in vegetable oil quotations coupled with a more modest gain in international prices of cereals more than offset a decline in dairy and sugar prices.