Latin America

• Saturday, December 26th 2009 - 13:30 UTC

  Ecuador begins legal actions against Air Comet; thousands still stranded

  

  The Ecuadorian government filed an appeal against Spain's Air Comet for alleged fraud and requested board directors be put under preventive custody, announced Migration Ministry Alexis Rivas during a press conference in Quito.

• Saturday, December 26th 2009 - 13:23 UTC

  FARC linked news agency justifies kidnapping and killing of Colombian governor

  

  A news agency close to FARC Colombian rebels justified the recent killing of provincial governor Luis Francisco Cuellar although it did not fully attribute responsibility of the abduction and murder to the Revolutionary Colombian Armed Forces.

• Saturday, December 26th 2009 - 12:44 UTC

  Hectic Chile: newborns given single names, forget the saint’s day

  

  Breaking from Chile’s tradition of giving babies a compound name - i.e. Juan Pablo, Maria Isabel - more and more parents are opting for single names.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:57 UTC

  Venezuela imposes power cuts and announces network of “Socialist” shops

  

  Venezuela has imposed sweeping power cuts on industry and businesses in order to save its limited energy resources and avoid mass blackouts. The government said the cuts were because of falling water levels at the Guri Hydroelectric dam, which supplies much of the country's power.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:52 UTC

  Father Christmas arrives for Lan Chile with contract for 30 Airbus A 320

  

  Chilean flag carrier LAN Airlines and its subsidiaries, one of the leading airlines in Latin America, announced Wednesday that the Company signed a contract for the purchase of 30 Airbus A320 family aircraft to be delivered between 2011 and 2016.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:49 UTC

  Another austerity year ahead for Cubans announced Raul Castro

  

  The Cuban economy grew by only 1.4% in 2009, far from an initial forecast of 6%, Economy and Planning minister told parliament this week. Marino Murillo said that Cuba’s exports fell by 22.9% this year, while imports were down 37.4%. Prospects for 2010 are modest: 1.7% growth.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:18 UTC

  Tribunal admits only 49% of registered Hondurans voted on November 29th

  

  Over half of Honduras registered voters in Honduras did not participate in the controversial presidential election last November 29th, held under the de facto regime, according to figures released by the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:14 UTC

  Bolivian Tribunal confirms Evo Morales’ sweeping electoral victory

  

  Bolivia’s re-elected president Evo Morales ratified his sweeping victory on December 6 general election when he was supported by 64.2% of the vote, according to the final vote count from the country’s Electoral Court.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:03 UTC

  EU, US and OAS condemn killing of Colombian governor attributed to FARC

  

  The European Union, United States and the Organization of American States condemned the killing of Colombian governor Luis Francisco Cuellar, which has been attributed to the Marxist-inspired, drugs-funded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, the oldest guerrilla grouping operating in the country.

• Wednesday, December 23rd 2009 - 15:52 UTC

  Kidnapped Colombian governor found dead with slit throat

  

  The body of Luis Francisco Cuellar Carvajal, governor of the Colombian department of Caqueta, was discovered Tuesday not far from where he was kidnapped the night before, government spokesperson Wilmer Rua said.