Latin America

• Monday, July 22nd 2013 - 06:47 UTC

  Re-re-election of Cristina Fernandez “not in government’s agenda”, says Scioli

  

  Re-re-election of President Cristina Fernandez is not in the government’s agenda, Buenos Aires province governor Daniel Scioli affirmed in tune with the Argentine president’s most recent messages: “I am not eternal,’ she has been long insisting.

• Monday, July 22nd 2013 - 06:32 UTC

  OAS chief Inzulza in Uruguay to present report on drug problem in the Americas

  

  The Organization of American States Secretary General José Miguel Insulza begins Monday a two day visit to Uruguay for the formal presentation of the “Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas” which has the support of several Latinamerican countries and former leaders of the region who have proposed a completely new approach to the drugs challenge.

• Monday, July 22nd 2013 - 06:24 UTC

  Uruguay is “extremely expensive: construction costs are double those of Argentina”

  

  Uruguay is not expensive, ‘it has become extremely expensive” with construction costs that are double those of Argentina, claimed Eduardo Constantini, an Argentine business man with strong investments in Uruguay, the latest of which building 500 summer houses along the eastern coast.

• Monday, July 22nd 2013 - 06:21 UTC

  Colombia orders strong offensive after guerrillas ambush and kill 19 soldiers

  

  Colombia’s president has ordered the military to mount a strong offensive against the country’s biggest rebel movement, FARC, after guerrillas killed 19 soldiers this weekend in two regions. President Juan Manuel Santos said Sunday the army will go after the rebels even though the government has been in peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia since last year.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 22:24 UTC

  Tickets for the 2014 World Cup final will range from 440 to 990 dollars

  

  FIFA has released the price list for tickets to the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil. Fans have until 10 October to apply and a ballot will decide which of the applications are successful.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 06:15 UTC

  Argentine defaulted bond holders demand ‘strict neutrality’ from the IMF

  

  A group of Argentine sovereign defaulted bond-holders have blasted the IMF for its announced intention of filing an amicus brief in support of Argentina before the US courts stating that “there is no role for direct involvement by the IMF in this matter” and any intervention by the IMF “favouring Argentina's request would also clearly violate the Fund's strict commitment to neutrality”.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 06:11 UTC

  Argentina’s economic activity picks up 7.8% in May and 4.1% in first five months

  

  Argentina's economic activity jumped 7.8% in May from a year earlier, according to the country’s questioned stats office, Indec. President Cristina Fernandez had anticipated the news earlier in the week in a televised speech.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 05:57 UTC

  Brazil the seventh most violent country; in 30 years homicides soared 132%, says Map of Violence

  

  More than one million people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2011, making it the world’s seventh-most violent country, according to the Map of Violence survey. In that period the homicides soared 132% to claim 1,145,208 lives, from a rate of 11.5 murders for 100,000 inhabitants in 1980 to 27 per 100,000 in 2011.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 05:35 UTC

  Fitch maintains Brazil’s debt outlook ‘stable’ and minister says the report was ‘fair’

  

  Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said that Fitch's decision to maintain the country’s debt outlook at stable was “fair” given Brazil robust finances and lesser debt burden.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 05:27 UTC

  Bolivia’s Morales apologizes to for 2011 incident when a Brazilian Defence ministry aircraft was searched

  

  Bolivia's President Evo Morales apologized to Brazil Friday for a 2011 incident in which authorities searched a Brazilian military aircraft for drugs. Brazil lodged an official complaint several days ago as Morales was demanding apologies from European countries for blocking his flight home from Moscow earlier this month.