Latin America

• Sunday, April 12th 2009 - 06:22 UTC

  Summit of the Americas: President Obama haunted by ghost of Cuba

  

  Mr Obama will announce that Washington is lifting the toughest restrictions on travel to the island for Cuban-Americans and the dollar remittances they can send back to impoverished relatives.

• Sunday, April 12th 2009 - 05:55 UTC

  Visitor numbers down for Chile’s Torres del Paine

  

  Visits to Chilean Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park were down slightly this tourist season, which began in October, 2008, and ended last month.

• Sunday, April 12th 2009 - 05:50 UTC

  Chile To Invest $30 Billion in Copper, Gold Projects

  

  Investment in Chilean copper and gold projects is expected to total over $30 billion. Chile is the world’s No. 1 producer and exporter of copper and each 1-cent increase in the annual median price of copper represents an additional $40 million for the treasury of the Andean nation. The median price per pound so far this year is $1.59, compared with $3.15 a pound in 2008.

• Saturday, April 11th 2009 - 08:26 UTC

  Bi-national Patagonia Chamber is born in Punta Arenas

  

  Argentine and Chilean delegations officially launched this week in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, the Bi-national Patagonia Chamber which brings together fifteen regional chambers from the regions of Aisen and Magallanes and Argentine Patagonia.

• Friday, April 10th 2009 - 11:07 UTC

  Bolivian Congress approves controversial vote law

  

  Bolivia's Congress approved on Thursday the “overall content” of an electoral law hours after President Evo Morales went on hunger strike to protest at opposition lawmakers' efforts to block the bill.

• Friday, April 10th 2009 - 07:14 UTC

  World Economic Forum on Latin America to be held in Rio do Janeiro

  

  More than 500 political, social and economic leaders from 37 countries will meet next week in Rio for the World Economic Forum on Latin America, the organizers announced on Wednesday.

• Friday, April 10th 2009 - 05:16 UTC

  Bolivian president on hunger strike to force Congress

  

  Bolivian President Evo Morales went on a hunger strike Thursday to demand Congress pass an electoral law which includes a firm date for December’s general election and other reforms which could make it easier for him to get re-elected and win control of Congress.

• Thursday, April 9th 2009 - 08:48 UTC

  Fidel Castro describes as “magnificent” meeting with US Congress members

  

  Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has described as “magnificent” a recent meeting with three Democratic US lawmakers, and is urging Washington to take the initiative to improve ties with Havana.

• Thursday, April 9th 2009 - 08:01 UTC

  Listeriosis outbreak in Santiago de Chile

  

  Santiago de Chile health officials promised information on the latest listeriosis outbreak in the metropolitan region with eight confirmed cases including one death and two miscarriages caused by the bacteria.

• Wednesday, April 8th 2009 - 05:58 UTC

  Peru’s Fujimori convicted to 25 years in prison for human rights crimes

  

  A three-judge panel of Peru’s Supreme Court convicted former president Alberto Fujimori of human rights crimes committed by his government's security forces in the 1990s. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of murder and kidnapping.