Latin America

• Monday, April 11th 2016 - 06:05 UTC

  ECLAC anticipates minus 1.9% contraction in economic activity this year in South America

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean are forecast to have an average economic activity contraction of -0.6% during 2016, according to the latest release from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This new estimate reflects that the contraction experienced by regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 (-0.5%) will extend to the current year.

• Saturday, April 9th 2016 - 21:42 UTC

  Keiko Fujimori poised to win Peru's first round presidential election, but opposition to her has climbed to 51%

  

  Keiko Fujimori is poised to win the first round of Peru's presidential election on Sunday, but with insufficient votes to avoid a second round on June 5, according to the latest survey with data collected on April 6. The Ipso poll showed Keiko with 37.7% of valid votes, and a double digit lead over each of her nine rivals.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 07:28 UTC

  Uruguay in Brussels to begin a crucial round of Mercosur/EU negotiations

  

  Uruguay Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa is scheduled to begin this Friday in Brussels what is believed to be the last round of talks with the European Union to reach a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.

• Saturday, April 2nd 2016 - 08:47 UTC

  Peru presidential election next 10 April with no clear winner

  Veronika Mendoza, a 35-year-old leftist presidential contender in Peru who is promising a new constitution to weaken the country's business elite jumped 5 percentage points in a poll and was seen as statistically tied at second with investor-favourite Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

• Friday, April 1st 2016 - 07:44 UTC

  UK at Chile's Air and Space Fair offering a significant range of defense products

  

  Partnership, disaster relief, industrial cooperation and innovation are the main UK themes as UK companies exhibit a range of world beating defense capabilities at Chile's FIDAE 2016, some attending for the first time, others as a result of having exhibited at a successful FIDAE 2014.

• Thursday, March 31st 2016 - 06:37 UTC

  Three mega-cruise vessels with 14.000 passengers coincide at St. Kitts and Nevis

  

  Three mega luxury cruise liners – Oasis of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Costa Favalosa coincides this week with close to 14,000 passengers at the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis and, along with them, hopes of increased business for locals. The capital Basseterre and its environs were bustling with string-band musicians, taxi-drivers competing for tours, tourists soaking up the sun, restaurants and stores full of visitors, and vendors busily plying their trade.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2016 - 06:57 UTC

  Argentina pulling out of Venezuela's sponsored Telesur TV network

  

  Argentina's government is pulling out from its involvement in the Spanish-language TV network that was started by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, saying the broadcaster blocks alternative viewpoints.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2016 - 06:37 UTC

  FIFA chief Infantino arrives in Uruguay; supports 2030 World Cup in River Plate

  

  FIFA President Gianni Infantino who on Tuesday will be in Uruguay, gave tentative backing to a joint World Cup bid by Argentina and Uruguay on Monday, suggesting the history of the two South American nations made them serious candidates to host the tournament in 2030.

• Sunday, March 27th 2016 - 12:52 UTC

  Argentina, on a UN decision expands continental shelf area by 35% to 350 miles

  

  Foreign minister Susana Malcorra is scheduled to officially announce on Monday the external limit of Argentina's continental shelf based on a unanimous decision from the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, (dependent from the Oceans and Law of the Sea), which adds to Argentina's shelf 1.7 million square kilometers, apparently confirming areas surrounding the Falklands/Malvinas, other South Atlantic islands and the Antarctica Argentine sector.

• Sunday, March 27th 2016 - 05:12 UTC

  “Times are changing” Rolling Stones play in Cuba to hundreds of thousands

  

  On Friday, the Rolling Stones became the first major international rock band to play in Cuba, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to a free concert at a decrepit sports complex on the road to the airport. For years, following the Cuban revolution, rock music was banned on Cuban state TV and radio. Cubans who wore long hair and beards faced harassment from officials, including Fidel Castro who told them to dress like men.