Latin America

• Tuesday, June 9th 2009 - 09:25 UTC

  It’s official: Cuba thanks sanctions’ revoke but says No to OAS

  

  Cuba has formally rejected re-joining the Organization of American States, days after the group revoked Cuba's expulsion from the OAS nearly 50 years ago. Cuba's official media published a government statement Monday saying Cuba's values are incompatible with what it described as the group's neo-liberal values of capitalism and self-promotion.

• Monday, June 8th 2009 - 13:51 UTC

  Hamburg-Sud largest container vessel tested Montevideo port’s efficiency

  

  Hamburg Sud “Rio de la Plata”, the first of a newbuilding series of six identical vessels with a slot capacity of 5.900 containers (and 1.365 reefer container plugs) called last month in Montevideo.

• Monday, June 8th 2009 - 13:43 UTC

  Lawmakers’ abuses not limited to UK shows Chilean television program

  

  Last week Chileans watched in disbelief a news report that showed their national deputies hard at work in Congress: fiddling around on their cell phones, spending time on Web sites like Facebook, or keeping up with the horse races.

• Monday, June 8th 2009 - 13:28 UTC

  Peruvian Amazon indigenous call for dialogue; Army patrols area

  

  Peruvian Amazon indigenous groups that fought government security forces with spears, rocks and home made guns during two days with a toll of over sixty killed and dozens missing said they are prepared to dialogue about the controversial laws which opened the region to logging, oil and minerals exploration and triggered the rebellion.

• Monday, June 8th 2009 - 12:59 UTC

  Spain committed to resumption of EU/Mercosur free trade talks

  

  Spain’s Secretary of State for Ibero-America Juan Pablo de Laigleisa begins Monday in Buenos Aires a visit to three Mercosur country members in preparation for when Madrid takes over the presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2010.

• Monday, June 8th 2009 - 10:14 UTC

  Possible first case of influenza A/H1N1 in Punta Arenas

  

  A possible first case of influenza A/H1N1 has been detected in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, according to local sanitary authorities. The 24 year old man reacted positive to an indirect immune-fluorescence (IFI) test which identifies the A human influenza virus but further tests are needed to determine if it is the H1N1 variant that is spreading worldwide.

• Sunday, June 7th 2009 - 19:16 UTC

  Chilean wine prices on sales to UK fall on average 31.2%

  

  Chilean bottled wine prices fell an average of 14.6% on the international market in April, while the quantity of bottled exports increased by 5.2%, according to a recent report by industry advocacy group Wines of Chile.

• Sunday, June 7th 2009 - 13:51 UTC

  Flight 447: Airbus 330 faulty speed sensors controversy erupts

  

  Brazilian search crews on Saturday retrieved the first bodies from the crashed Air France flight 447 in the Atlantic, and investigators said faulty speed readings had been found on the same type of jets.

• Sunday, June 7th 2009 - 13:47 UTC

  New Chilean domestic airline takes off June 18

  

  Principal Airlines’ (PAL) imminent domestic service between Santiago, Antofagasta, and Iquique has officially received flight authorization from the Chilean Civil Aviation Authority.

• Sunday, June 7th 2009 - 13:43 UTC

  Fighting in the Peruvian Amazon turns ugly; death toll in the fifties

  

  Nine Peruvian police officers were killed Saturday after security forces regained control of a petroleum facility in a remote jungle region from indigenous groups that are protesting against logging and oil exploration rights awarded by the government.