Latin America

• Monday, August 3rd 2009 - 13:50 UTC

  Bolivian president Morales launches the “indigenous autonomy”

  

  Bolivia has become the first country in the history of South America to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves. The country's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, launched his so-called “indigenous autonomy” policy in the eastern lowlands.

• Monday, August 3rd 2009 - 13:13 UTC

  Weapons from 27 different countries found in Colombian terrorist camps

  

  Weapons captured by the Colombian forces from the terrorist cocaine-funded organization FARC during the last ten years originated in at least 27 different countries and the Colombian government has requested help in finding out how they reached the jungle war.

• Sunday, August 2nd 2009 - 12:08 UTC

  Argentine/Chilean ministerial summit this week in Buenos Aires

  

  Argentine and Chilean cabinet ministers will be meeting next Thursday in Buenos Aires to advance in the integration process and address an agenda of bilateral issues, according to reports in the Argentine capital.

• Sunday, August 2nd 2009 - 12:01 UTC

  Venezuela turns off 34 broadcasting stations

  

  Radio stations in Venezuela have begun to fall silent in the wake of government orders to some broadcasters to cease operations. The Circuito Nacional Belfort Network, CNB, station in Caracas was among the first to stop broadcasting Saturday morning. At least four other CNB stations also went off the air.

• Sunday, August 2nd 2009 - 11:42 UTC

  Cuba faces harder times; Castro willing to talk with US about everything

  

  Cuban President Raul Castro said he remains ready to talk about everything and anything with the United States but that Cuba’s political system was not on the negotiating table.

• Sunday, August 2nd 2009 - 11:34 UTC

  South America’s nutria, one of the worst invasive species in US wetlands

  

  Billions of dollars are spent every year in the United States in an attempt to control invasive species. Plants and animals brought legally and illegally into the US have created extensive damage to the ecosystem and the economy.

• Saturday, August 1st 2009 - 17:17 UTC

  Venezuela Mulls Jail Time for “Media Offenses”

  

  The leftist Venezuelan government expressed on Friday its support for the draft legislation that contemplates jail sentences for “media offenses,” an idea denounced by journalists’ associations and media executives.

• Saturday, August 1st 2009 - 02:47 UTC

  Magallanes region unemployment the lowest in Chile, 4.9%

  

  The unemployment rate in Magallanes region, extreme south of Chile during the second quarter reached 4.9% which is more than double a year ago (2.2%). However it was down 1.4 percentage points from the previous quarter, making it Chile’s region with the lowest rate of jobless, according to the latest report from the country’s Statistics Office.

• Friday, July 31st 2009 - 12:12 UTC

  Chile, Panama with the highest rate of imprisoned population

  

  Chile, Panama and Salvador are the three Latinamerican countries with the highest number of imprisoned criminals per 100.000 of population, according to a report from the United Nations Latinamerican institute for crime prevention and treatment of delinquents, INALUD.

• Friday, July 31st 2009 - 12:04 UTC

  Punta Arenas hosts next week Antarctic science programs summit

  

  Chile will host the next annual meeting of the Council of Managers of Annual Antarctic Programs, CMNAP, which convenes 26 countries, reported the organizers. The host city will be Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile and headquarters of Chile’s Antarctic Institute.