Latin America

• Monday, August 24th 2015 - 10:56 UTC

  Guatemala president will not quit and rejects corruption allegations

  

  Guatemalan President Otto Perez said he will not resign and rejected allegations that he was one of the ringleaders of a corruption scandal shaking the country.

• Monday, August 24th 2015 - 10:35 UTC

  Franco-Brazilian journalist beaten-up in Ecuador leaves the country but promises to return

  

  Detained, beaten-up and threatened with deportation: Franco-Brazilian journalist Manuela Picq experienced the rough edges of Ecuador's political system after attending an anti-government rally this month backed by union bosses and indigenous leaders.

• Saturday, August 22nd 2015 - 07:56 UTC

  Prosecution requests impeachment of Guatemala president Otto Perez

  

  Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office said Friday that it has requested the Supreme Court's permission to start an impeachment process for President Otto Perez Molina over a sprawling corruption case that has held the country in the grip of political turmoil for months. The move came hours after the former vice president was placed under arrest for her own alleged role in the scandal.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2015 - 07:22 UTC

  FARC have requested to meet Francis and want the Church to join the peace process in Havana

  

  Representatives of Colombia's largest guerrilla movement have asked to meet Pope Francis in Cuba in September and have requested the Catholic Church name a permanent delegate to their peace negotiations with the government.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2015 - 07:02 UTC

  American Airlines charters to Cuba from Los Angeles next December

  

  American Airlines which has operated charter flights to Cuba since 1991, said on Tuesday that it plans to begin charter services between Los Angeles and Havana on Dec. 12. But by that time, the U.S. and Cuban governments may be ready to allow scheduled airline flights between the two countries, a practice not allowed for more than a half-century.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2015 - 06:51 UTC

  Sargassum seaweed, 'greatest single threat to the Caribbean tourism industry'

  

  It would take at least US$120 million and more than 100,000 people to clean up the Sargassum seaweed that has created “an international crisis” and “the greatest single threat” to the Caribbean, according to Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Sir Hilary Beckles.

• Monday, August 17th 2015 - 08:07 UTC

  Ecuador declares state of emergency as volcano Cotopaxi becomes active

  

  Ecuador's President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency Saturday after increased activity the day before at the giant Cotopaxi volcano, giving the government greater leeway to mobilize financial resources in the event of an eruption.

• Monday, August 17th 2015 - 07:54 UTC

  Ecuador hits back at the UK over the Assange asylum case in London

  

  Ecuador has hit back at the UK government over who is to blame for the deadlock in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The 44-year-old Australian has been living in Ecuador's embassy in London for more than three years to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces sexual assault allegations.

• Monday, August 17th 2015 - 06:52 UTC

  Suriname leader Bouterse takes office for another five-year term

  

  Suriname former military ruler Desi Bouterse officially began a second consecutive five-year term in office after being sworn in, promising to diversify the country’s economy and make the country less dependent on bauxite, gold and oil exports.

• Saturday, August 15th 2015 - 08:50 UTC

  Uruguay says Brazil rejects idea of leaving Mercosur, but agrees that deep changes are urgent

  

  Uruguay's foreign minister said on Friday that “nobody” supports the proposal from the Brazilian Senate president Renan Calheiros to put an end to the Mercosur customs union. However he did point out that he proposal exposed that the block effectively is 'not working' and needs to have its foundations reviewed.