Latin America

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 08:55 UTC

  Uruguay first league match suspended following shootings among hooligan gangs

  

  Uruguay figures among the ten best national teams in the world according to the FIFA rating and has players in some of the top European teams, but back home things are quite different: a Sunday first league match was suspended at half time following shootings among hooligan gangs in one of the stadium's toilets, according to the first official reports.

• Sunday, October 23rd 2016 - 06:50 UTC

  Rapprochement with Cuba: Four decades ago Jimmy Carter tried to come to terms with Havana

  

  Four decades ago, U.S. ex president James Carter tried to do in secret what Barack Obama finally achieved publicly and in a less adverse context: to start a process to normalize relations between the United States and Cuba. In a long article, the Cuban newspaper Granma reveals that Carter (1976/1980) had been the only US president who set in writing his intention to promote dialogue between Washington and Havana.

• Saturday, October 22nd 2016 - 10:31 UTC

  Uruguay expects a no-growth cruise season; Buenos Aires port rates discourage companies

  

  Uruguay is expecting some 150 cruise calls this coming season 2016/17 which begins next month and represents some 300.000 visitors, according to Tourism minister Liliam Kechichian who nevertheless admitted that growth prospects are somehow behind schedule because of the high costs of reaching and operating in the port of Buenos Aires.

• Saturday, October 22nd 2016 - 09:20 UTC

  Diphtheria outbreak in Venezuela; CIA “germ warfare” claims the Chavista government

  

  Diphtheria, an extremely contagious disease that has been mostly eradicated worldwide through vaccination, has reappeared in Venezuela and so far has killed four children with another twenty cases reported in just one month. The reappearance of diphtheria, a disease not seen in Venezuela in more than 20 years, is yet the worst symptom of the country's collapsed health system.

• Tuesday, October 18th 2016 - 08:31 UTC

  WikiLeaks claims Assange's internet was shut down; possible controversy over Hillary's speeches

  

  Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on Monday that its founder Julian Assange's internet was shut down by the government of Ecuador, deflecting blame from the U.S. or British governments which have sparred with Assange for releasing sensitive material.

• Tuesday, October 18th 2016 - 07:32 UTC

  Spain asks Latin American countries support for Gibraltar's sovereignty claim

  

  Spain has, for the first time ever, asked the annual Iberian-Latin American Summit for its support on the Gibraltar sovereignty question. It has asked the Colombian Government, as the organizers of the 28/29 October event to circulate the text for the summit to adopt a resolution for the resumption of sovereignty talks over Gibraltar.

• Monday, October 17th 2016 - 09:57 UTC

  “Spoiler” Uribe replies to the NYT editorial: “an offence to the millions of Colombians who voted NO”

  

  Colombia's Democratic Center party founded by former president Alvaro Uribe criticized on Sunday The New York Times for a recent editorial accusing the ex head of government of “blocking” the peace process in the country and calling on him to act as “a true statesman”. The party said that the NYT editorial constitutes “an offence to the millions of Colombians” who voted against the terms of the peace accord between the government and the main guerrilla group, FARC.

• Saturday, October 15th 2016 - 10:48 UTC

  Russia Is Vital to Protecting Antarctica’s Ross Sea

  

  By José María Figueres (*) - The key to protecting Antarctica’s Ross Sea may well lie with Russia. On Monday the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, comprising 24 nations and the European Union, will discuss, once again, the creation of a large, marine protected area in the Southern Ocean.

• Friday, October 14th 2016 - 09:17 UTC

  EU-Mercosur trade deal within two years, followed by negotiations with UK

  

  The European Union and Mercosur could strike a free trade deal within two years, according to Argentina’s Commerce Secretary Miguel Braun. After Brexit, Mercosur would be open to a separate trade deal with the UK. Trade negotiations between the EU and Mercosur nations are still on track, despite the UK’s decision to leave the bloc and uncertainty over the future of the EU’s other major trade agreements – TTIP and CETA.

• Thursday, October 13th 2016 - 14:52 UTC

  Latin America and Caribbean will suffer 0.9% contraction this year but growth will reach 1.5% in 2017

  

  The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has revised its economic growth projections for the region and now expects a 0.9% average contraction for Latin America and the Caribbean this year. Economic activity is expected to pick up in 2017 with average growth of 1.5%, according to a press release by the United Nations agency.