Latin America

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 18:03 UTC

  Unasur embarrassment: Suriname president’s son arrested by US on drug and arms trafficking

  

  Suriname opposition legislators have called on President Desi Bouterse to resign as well as to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest of his son by United States law enforcement authorities in Panama earlier this week.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 17:46 UTC

  Santos orders troops to patrol Bogotá as farm-protest reaches the capital

  

  President Juan Manuel Santos ordered troops to patrol Bogota and Colombia's highways on Friday, after violent protests in support of striking farmworkers left two dead.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 15:27 UTC

  Uruguay fearing the wrath of Cristina Fernandez denies authorization to expand pulp mill capacity

  

  The Uruguayan government fearful of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez’s reaction will not authorize the local UPM pulp mill to expand its production capacity from 1 million to 1.3 million tons annually, in the short term, according to company and government sources.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 02:01 UTC

  Sigh of relief for Mantega: Brazilian economy expands 1.5% in second quarter

  

  Brazil’s economy expanded 1.5% in the second quarter of 2013 compared with the previous three month, exceeding the most optimistic market expectations, official statistics showed Friday. The farm sector fared best, growing 3.9%, followed by industry with 2% and services 0.8% according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) website.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 01:50 UTC

  “Doors are open for Aerolíneas whenever they wish” Chile tells Argentina

  

  Chilean Foreign minister Alfredo Moreno said that flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentina can access the Chilean domestic market whenever they wish, discarding any impediments or veto to such an option.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 00:29 UTC

  Paraguay and Venezuela resume political dialogue at Unasur summit

  

  Paraguay and Venezuela presidents Horacio Cartes and Nicolas Maduro met on Friday for over half an hour following the mediation of Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff during the Unasur summit taking place in Paramaribo, Suriname. The meeting was made official by the Paraguayan presidency office and twits from the Planalto Palace, seat of the Brazilian executive.

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 23:54 UTC

  Falklands’ Noble Energy exploring for oil in disputed Caribbean waters supported by Nicaragua

  

  On 17 July, Nicaragua announced that US-based Noble Energy would invest 30 million dollars in drilling two offshore wells in the Caribbean—launching Nicaragua's first-ever oil exploration.

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 03:50 UTC

  Uruguay’s first lady praises Cristina Fernandez and blast opposition

  

  Uruguay’s First Lady and Senator Lucia Topolansky said that for her fellow countrymen having a dispute with Argentina is “like fighting with yourself” and described as ‘painful’ the several years long conflict between the two countries over the construction of the UPM (former Botnia) pulp mill on a shared river.

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 02:56 UTC

  Argentine judge blocks hangar eviction of Lan from Buenos Aires air terminal

  

  An Argentine judge on Wednesday granted an injunction blocking the eviction of LAN Argentina, a unit of Chile-based LATAM Airlines Group, from its hangar at Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery Airport, which handles domestic and regional flights.

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 02:48 UTC

  IMF encouragement for Brazil’s economy gradual upturn

  

  The Brazilian economy is on a gradual upturn from the slowdown begun in mid-2011, the IMF says while urging Brasilia to continue efforts to rein in inflation. The country's 12-month inflation reached 6.27% in July, close to the upper limit of the government target of 6.5%.