Latin America

• Wednesday, March 10th 2010 - 23:10 UTC

  Minister Bryant at Piñera’ inauguration praises Chilean resilience

  

  British Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant visits Chile for the inauguration of President-elect Sebastian Piñera, Thursday March 11 and to see areas of Chile affected by the recent earthquake.

• Wednesday, March 10th 2010 - 22:55 UTC

  Implications of La Moneda Leadership in the Piñera Era and is the White House Prepared for a Vastly Changed Latin America

  

  The interim between Chile’s January 17th election and the inauguration of its victor, Sebastian Piñera, on March 11th, provides a useful opportunity to reflect on the course of recent U.S.-Chile relations, and the future prospects for cooperation, given the stand-pat tendencies of both governments.

• Wednesday, March 10th 2010 - 22:46 UTC

  Europe drafts condemnation of Castro brothers regime human rights policy

  

  Cuban dissident on hunger strike to protest against the detention of 26 ailing political prisoners has said he is “ready to die,” a Mexican newspaper has reported. “I am aware that I am in the last days of my life,” Guillermo Fariñas told the Reforma newspaper.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 23:24 UTC

  Bachelet retained her position as “the most loved leader” by Chileans

  

  A public opinion poll with the purpose of gauging support for Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in the last days of her government, after the devastating earthquake, showed that her standing remains intact at 84%, like in February.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 23:03 UTC

  Piñera promised to keep the Army displayed in areas worst hit by the quake

  

  Chilean President elect Sebastián Piñera announced that once he takes office, the military forces displayed in the areas worst hit by the February 27 earthquake will be retained. He also anticipated that the “state of catastrophe” in a very selective manner will be enforced in all those areas which are in need.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 20:33 UTC

  Violence and crime eroding the popularity of President Chavez

  

  It has been several years now since the Venezuelan government published official statistics on violence but according to a NGO that keeps records of crimes, last year 16.047 people were killed, compared to 14.800 in 2008 and 4.500 in 1998.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 19:57 UTC

  Falklands’ government donates £ 5.000 to Chile Earthquake Appeal Fund

  

  The Falkland Islands Government donated £ 5.000 to the Chile Earthquake Appeal Fund, which was opened by Chilean residents in the Islands to help victims of the earthquake that devastated central Chile.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 19:03 UTC

  Immediate infrastructure reconstruction cost for Chile, 1.2 billion USD

  

  Chilean Public Works Minister Sergio Bitar estimated that the reconstruction and reparation of sidewalks, airports, canals, and other infrastructure works will cost around 1.2 billion US dollars, after the earthquake that devastated the nation. The quake was an 8.8 on the Richter scale.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 07:22 UTC

  Massive Chilean quake shifted whole cities including Santiago and Buenos Aires

  

  The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck the west coast of Chile last month moved the entire city of Concepcion at least 10 feet to the west, and shifted other parts of South America as far apart as the Falkland Islands and Fortaleza, Brazil according to a publication from the University of Ohio.

• Monday, March 8th 2010 - 10:46 UTC

  Chile Telethon Raises US$58 Million For Disaster Victims

  

  Around 10,000 volunteers in 400 locations across Chile united to raise funds for the earthquake stricken country over the weekend.