Latin America

• Monday, March 31st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Young Combatants Day in Chile leaves one dead, 232 arrests

  

  A young man was killed early Sunday morning during the violent protest commemorating Young Combatants Day. The victim, identified as 24 year old René Palma, was shot and killed by a group of hooded protestors who, according to local news, thought he was a police infiltrator.

• Monday, March 31st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Growing fears for the life of FARC hostage Betancourt

  

  Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt hostage of the FARC guerrilla group since 2002 is again chained following an aborted attempt to escape. The French-Colombian national also desperately needs a blood transfusion because of the several ills she's suffering report the Bogotá and Caracas press.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  No end in sight to Andean conflict

  President Rafael Correa's outrage over Colombia's cross-border raid on a rebel camp in Ecuador has improved his popularity, strengthening his chances of gaining approval for constitutional reforms later this year.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  FIDAE 2008, largest aerospace fair opens in Santiago

  

  Chilean president Michelle Bachelet will inaugurate Monday the fifteenth edition of the International Air & Space Fair, FIDAE, Latinamerica largest air show and one of the leading exhibitions of the industry in the world.

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  France increasingly involved in release of Colombian hostages

  

  Colombia thanked France for having displayed on stand by a medical evacuation aircraft to receive, in case she's released, ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, FARC over six years ago.

• Saturday, March 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile: German tank trainers attacked

  Five youths are accused of attacking nine German soldiers and taking them hostage in this Chilean port city, police said.

• Friday, March 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombia offers jailed rebels for Ingrid Betancourt

  

  The Colombian government has offered to suspend the sentences of hundreds of rebel fighters from FARC if it frees Ingrid Betancourt, a captive French-Colombian politician, and other hostages.

• Friday, March 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Cuba lifts cellphone restrictions; next month DVDs

  

  Cubans have been allowed unrestricted access to mobile phones for the first time in the latest reform announced under new President Raul Castro. In a statement in official newspaper Granma, state telecom monopoly ETECSA said it would offer mobile services to the public in the next few days.

• Thursday, March 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Global and regional poor rating for Chilean air facilities

  

  Bad flight connections, long waiting lines and restricted flight options are some of the reasons a recent World Economic Forum study placed Chile 7th among Latin American nations in airline services. Worldwide, Chile ranked 50th, with a 3.4 mark on a scale of one to seven.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile: Finnish tourist held over Easter Island ear

  

  The authorities on Easter Island have detained a Finnish tourist on suspicion of trying to steal an earlobe of one of the world-famous moai stone statues.