Latin America

• 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.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2016 - 11:00 UTC

  UN mission in Haiti to be extended six months in aftermath of hurricane Matthew

  

  With Haiti facing the dual challenges of addressing the impact of Hurricane Matthew and restarting preparations for the holding of the much-anticipated elections, the United Nations envoy for the Caribbean country on Tuesday expressed support for the recommended extension of the UN mission there by six months until mid-April 2017.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 09:46 UTC

  Haiti: 1.000 dead and counting, and first cases of cholera; three days official mourning

  

  Matthew, meanwhile, lost its hurricane status, subsiding to a “post-tropical cyclone” after cutting a swath from Florida to South Carolina in United States. Matthew crashed ashore on Haiti’s southern coast on Tuesday as a monster Category 4 storm, packing 230 km winds.

• Friday, October 7th 2016 - 12:36 UTC

  Boost for Colombian deal: President Santos awarded Nobel Peace Prize

  

  The president of Colombia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for pursuing a deal to end 52 years of conflict with a Marxist rebel group, the longest-running war in the Americas, just five days after Colombians rejected the agreement in a shocking referendum result.

• Thursday, October 6th 2016 - 12:06 UTC

  IMF forecasts Latam and Caribbean economy will contract 0.6% this year and expand 1.6% in 2017

  

  International Monetary Fund said that the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will shrink 0.6% this year, compared with its earlier projection of a 0.5% contraction. The prediction is part of the latest edition of the IMF's World Economic Outlook, which points out that while major regional economies such as Brazil and Venezuela are suffering, most other countries in the area continue to expand.