Latin America

• Monday, July 13th 2009 - 12:11 UTC

  Chileans take advantage of cruise ship deals

  

  Chilean tourism agencies are now selling cruise-ship packages at heavily discounted prices to combat the drop in sales brought on by the worldwide economic crisis.
  Two weeks ago Corte Ingles Travel held an overnight sale auction on their cruises, attended by more than 200 people.

• Monday, July 13th 2009 - 12:03 UTC

  Santiago, Montevideo, among cheapest cities for tourists

  

  Santiago is one of the cheapest cities for foreigners, according to a survey published by finance consultancy Mercer. The Chilean capital is the fourth most economical city in Latinamerica and the 15th cheapest worldwide. The Uruguayan capital Montevideo also figures among the most accessible and liveable cities in the region.

• Sunday, July 12th 2009 - 17:42 UTC

  New York Philharmonic will play in Havana next October

  

  The head of the New York Philharmonic met with Cuban officials and toured facilities in Havana on Saturday ahead of an October visit to the Castro brothers’ regime by the renowned orchestra.

• Sunday, July 12th 2009 - 17:40 UTC

  New cabinet in Peru must restore “confidence and optimism”

  

  Peruvian President Alan Garcia appointed Saturday Congress President Javier Velasquez as cabinet chief and shuffled his cabinet a month after protests against logging and oil concessions turned deadly.

• Saturday, July 11th 2009 - 18:15 UTC

  Bolivia interested in Uruguayan ports for its overseas trade

  

  Uruguay has offered far better conditions for the export of Bolivian products from Uruguayan ports than Chile has, revealed on Friday Bolivian Foreign Affairs minister David Choquehuanca.

• Friday, July 10th 2009 - 12:57 UTC

  The Latin American Dream

  

  Britain’s Foreign Office Minister, Chris Bryant, attended an event at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and delivered a speech on “Latin America – realising the dream”. The event and speech focused on Latin America's role in the world and how the EU and Latin America need to work together on global issues such as climate change and the international financial crisis.

• Friday, July 10th 2009 - 12:28 UTC

  Sixty Chilean companies in Top 500 of Latinamerica

  

  Financial magazine América-Economía this week ranked 60 Chilean companies among the top 500 businesses in Latin America on the basis of sales – five more than in 2007. Chile follows Brazil (212) and Mexico (126) in the ranking, surpassing bigger economies like Argentina (35) and Venezuela (7).

• Friday, July 10th 2009 - 12:14 UTC

  Genocide charges await Bolivia’s former “Minister of Cocaine” deported from US

  

  A former Bolivian interior minister accused of human rights violations was handed over to authorities in La Paz Thursday after completing a prison sentence in the United States. Luis Arce Gomez, 71, was deported and handed over to Bolivian authorities in La Paz on Thursday morning, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

• Friday, July 10th 2009 - 08:32 UTC

  Peru prepares to fend off 2011 presidential populist contender

  

  Peru's departing prime minister said on Thursday he would run for the presidency in 2011, working to forge a coalition that includes the pro-business ruling party and independents. But it will be some time before campaigning begins.

• Thursday, July 9th 2009 - 13:01 UTC

  “Special powers” in Chile to drive down cases of A/H1N1 virus influenza

  

  In the face of increasing numbers of hospitalizations and consultations relating to breathing problems related to flu, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet issued a decree this week giving the Health Ministry additional powers to address Chile’s current problems relating to the AH1N1 virus.