Latin America

• Friday, May 22nd 2015 - 10:21 UTC

  El Niño could again disrupt global food markets later this year

  

  A strong El Niño is likely to increase prices of staple foods such as rice, coffee, sugar and cocoa, say scientists. Forecasters agree that the El Niño effect, which can drive droughts and flooding, is under way in the tropical Pacific, but they say it is too early to say how severe it will be.

• Friday, May 22nd 2015 - 08:52 UTC

  PM Li Keqiang in Bogotá: China and Colombia considering free trade accord

  

  Chinese Premier Li Keqiang vowed to deepen economic ties with Colombia after arriving to Bogotá on Thursday, as part of his four-nation South American tour aimed at boosting trade and investment. Li is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Colombia since the two nations established diplomatic ties 35 years ago and his visit was hailed as historic by President Juan Manuel Santos.

• Friday, May 22nd 2015 - 08:48 UTC

  Caribbean epidemiologic alert following reports of Zika virus in Brazil

  

  Following reports of suspected Zika virus in Brazil, the health ministries of several Caribbean countries have issued advisories for the mosquito borne viral disease.On Thursday, the Jamaica Health Ministry issued an epidemiological alert after the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) noted the potential spread of this arbovirus across territories where the vectors (Aedes) are present.

• Friday, May 22nd 2015 - 08:39 UTC

  “Obama would relish the opportunity to visit Cuba and Havana in particular”

  

  President Obama is looking to travel to Cuba’s capitol city of Havana before his tenure ends, White Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday, the same day a Florida bank announced that the State Department has given them permission to make diplomatic transactions between the two nations.

• Thursday, May 21st 2015 - 07:27 UTC

  Uruguay and Brazil summit to consider a more flexible Mercosur

  

  Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez will be meeting his peer, Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia this Thursday to address a dense bilateral agenda, and more specifically the workings and future of Mercosur, in search for a more flexible group, open to agreements with third parties.

• Wednesday, May 20th 2015 - 22:45 UTC

  Cruise ship freed off the coast of Bermuda with the arrival of high tide

  

  A cruise ship with thousands of passengers headed to Boston in the US east coast was freed late Tuesday night after running aground off the coast of Bermuda. With the arrival of high tide, the ship was able to be freed and was moved to a nearby anchorage position, officials reported.

• Wednesday, May 20th 2015 - 05:44 UTC

  Beijing to the rescue of sliding Brazil: 53bn dollars in trade, finance and investment

  

  Beijing has come to the rescue of Brazil's slumping economy with trade, finance and investment deals worth at least 53 billion dollars in energy, mining, aviation and upgrading of dilapidated infrastructure.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2015 - 07:33 UTC

  Chinese PM in Brasilia; Beijing prepared to invest 100bn in transport and energy

  

  China's Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Brasilia on Monday to sign agreements on infrastructure, energy and aviation that experts say could reach 100 billion dollars. The South American tour also includes Colombia, Peru and Chile and aims to restructure China's resource-driven trade with Latin American countries by including more value-added products.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2015 - 02:16 UTC

  UK commends Guyana's elections and pledges support for President Granger

  

  The United Kingdom congratulated Guyana for last week's general election and promised to continue working with the new government of David Granger to build on the strong and long-standing relationship between the two countries.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2015 - 02:05 UTC

  Latam unemployment expected to increase as economic activity weakens

  

  The non encouraging economic outlook for the current year will likely prompt a mild increase in the regional unemployment rate to 6.2% from the 6.0% registered in 2014, according to estimates released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).