Latin America

Thursday, March 18th 2010 - 02:19 UTC
Chilean Professor chairs Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights (CIDH) from the Organization of American States, OAS, this week elected Chilean human rights attorney Felipe Gonzalez as its new president.
Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 23:20 UTC
IPI calls for immediate release of 19 Cuban journalists jailed in 2003

Seven years after Cuba’s notorious Black Spring clampdown on independent journalism, IPI (International Press Institute) calls for the immediate release of the 19 journalists jailed in 2003 who still remain in prison, as well as of the six other journalists jailed after 2003.
Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 22:27 UTC
Amnesty calls on Cuban authorities to release dissidents “unfairly detained”

Amnesty International Wednesday called on the Cuban authorities to release all dissidents “unfairly detained” and to revoke laws restricting freedom of expression and the right to free assembly and association.
Tuesday, March 16th 2010 - 18:26 UTC
Chile’s power supply “fragile” for the next six months

Chile’s new Energy Minister Ricardo Raineri said the country’s electricity supply may not normalize for another six months, following a blackout which hit more than 70% of the country late Sunday night.
Tuesday, March 16th 2010 - 16:37 UTC
Chile per capita expenditure on defence, the highest of Latinamerica

Chile is the second largest weapons importer in the Americas and the 11th largest in the world, a recent study has shown. Chile’s defence budget nearly doubled between 1997 and 2007, the study carried out by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.
Monday, March 15th 2010 - 20:16 UTC
Uruguay/Bolivia sign agreement to exchange natural gas for sea outlet

Bolivia will gain access to Atlantic ports in Uruguay in exchange for a pledge of natural gas exports to Montevideo in an agreement signed in La Paz by presidents Evo Morales and José Mujica.
Monday, March 15th 2010 - 19:50 UTC
Colombia’s former Defense minister consolidates as sucesor of Uribe

Colombian presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos’s La U party is leading the vote count of congressional elections held Sunday, consolidating his position as frontrunner to succeed Alvaro Uribe.
Monday, March 15th 2010 - 13:46 UTC
Blackout Hits Most Of Chile

Transformer failure blamed as much of the country goes dark.
A blackout blamed on a fault in Chile's Central Interconnected System hit nearly all of Chile around 8:50 p.m. local time Sunday night.
Saturday, March 13th 2010 - 01:04 UTC
US military have no evidence of Venezuela, FARC and ETA links

The chief of the US military's Southern Command, General Douglas Fraser, said during a hearing before the US Senate that he had no evidence of links between Venezuela, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Colombian guerrilla group and the Basque separatist group ETA.
Saturday, March 13th 2010 - 00:57 UTC
Colombia’s congressional election Sunday, a test for May’s presidential vote

Colombian congressional elections this weekend may signal how much backing former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos will have as he seeks to capitalize on the success of Alvaro Uribe’s “democratic security” politics to succeed him as president.