Latin America

• Sunday, November 9th 2014 - 10:23 UTC

  Plaque dedicated to English soldiers in Cartagena triggers strong controversy

  

  A Colombian engineer smashed a plaque commemorating the death in 1741 of thousands of English soldiers in the coastal city of Cartagena just days after it was inaugurated by Prince Charles, said the mayor of the city who has now ordered its removal.

• Sunday, November 9th 2014 - 10:01 UTC

  Mexico's cancels contract to build a high-speed passenger train link

  

  Mexico has abruptly cancelled a 3.75bn dollars contract awarded on Monday for a Chinese-led consortium to build a high-speed passenger rail link. President Enrique Peña Nieto said he wanted to avoid “any doubts about the legitimacy and transparency” of the bidding process.

• Sunday, November 9th 2014 - 09:52 UTC

  Antarctic ozone hole reached annual peak 11 September and with the size of North America

  

  The Antarctic ozone hole reached its annual peak size on Sept. 11, according to scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The size of this year’s hole was 24.1 million square kilometers, an area roughly the size of North America.

• Saturday, November 8th 2014 - 06:11 UTC

  Mexico in shock: gangsters admit having killed and burnt bodies of 43 students

  

  The 43 teacher trainees missing since a Sept. 26 incident in the southern state of Guerrero involving gangsters and corrupt cops are dead, Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said Friday, citing statements from three suspects in custody.

• Wednesday, November 5th 2014 - 21:37 UTC

  HMS Argyll hosts Prince Charles and Colombian president Santos in Cartagena

  

  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, accompanied by the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos and First Lady Maria Clemencia Rodriguez, visited Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll alongside in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia on Friday, 31 October. The party were introduced to members of the ship’s company and witnessed an evening sunset ceremony.

• Wednesday, November 5th 2014 - 07:20 UTC

  Cuba is asking for 8 billion dollars in investment from private corporations

  

  Cuba asked international companies on Monday to invest more than 8 billion dollars in the island as it attempts to kick-start a centrally planned economy starved for cash and hamstrung by inefficiency.

• Wednesday, November 5th 2014 - 04:06 UTC

  “Mercosur and Pacific Alliance are not contradictory competing blocks”

  

  Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance are not contradictory competing blocks, and can advance towards a mutually beneficial convergence, said Chile's Economy minister Luis Felipe Cespedes during a trade and investment promotion seminar in Brazil.

• Monday, November 3rd 2014 - 08:41 UTC

  Pacific Alliance and Mercosur agree to continue discussions in Chile

  

  Mercosur and Pacific Alliance foreign affairs ministers met this weekend in Colombia for a first round of talks on integration mechanisms and the potential for specific alliances. The idea of the meeting was first launched by Chile with the purpose of a 'convergence' of interests and a possible future integration.

• Saturday, November 1st 2014 - 04:35 UTC

  Swire, first Foreign Office minister to visit Cuban in almost ten years

  

  United Kingdom Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire has become the first UK Minister to visit Cuba in almost ten years. His three-day time in the country included meetings with senior government figures and others to discuss bilateral relations including trade and investment. He will also raise UK concerns about the human rights situation.

• Friday, October 31st 2014 - 08:27 UTC

  Pacific Alliance and Mercosur begin round of ministerial informative meetings

  

  The Pacific Alliance and Mercosur will be holding a two-day ministerial informative meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, beginning this Friday, a first approach to a possible convergence of the two groupings, according to official releases.