Latin America

• Saturday, January 19th 2013 - 03:29 UTC

  Santos could seek popular approval for any peace and political accord with FARC

  

  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos opened the door to a popular vote on any peace accord negotiated and signed with FARC rebels, but rejected a guerrilla demand to change the constitution if a deal is clinched.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 23:58 UTC

  Environmentalists praise conservation aspects of new Chilean Fisheries law

  

  Chile has established a set of new fisheries laws protecting underwater sea mountains, limiting by-catch and setting science based quotas, protecting 150.000 square kilometers of marine habitat.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 23:47 UTC

  Controversy in Chile over salmon industry costs, regulations and standards

  

  The recent statements by the CEO of Marine Harvest in Chile generated a rapid reaction of the Minister of Economy, who justified the measures taken to prevent the catastrophic recurrence of a crisis such as the spread of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA).

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 23:39 UTC

  First journalist killed in the western hemisphere in 2013 is from Brazil

  

  Renato Machado Gonçalves, the manager and joint owner of Radio Barra FM in Rio de Janeiro state, has become the first journalist to be killed in the western hemisphere in 2013. He was gunned down as he left his home in the north of the state last week.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 14:33 UTC

  Falklands’ referendum, a “democratic and incontestable” answer to Argentina’s ambitions

  

  The Falkland Islands elected government has confirmed the dates and final wording of the referendum on the political status of the Islands, based on their right to self determination and to counter Argentina’s repeated calls for negotiations over sovereignty.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 14:29 UTC

  Falklands does not discard a referendum on ‘full independence in the future’

  

  If at the coming referendum, the Falkland Islands wish to remain a UK Overseas Territory, retaining the current status and preserving the right to self-determination, which would allow the Falkland Islands to review its status at any time, “this could include full independence in the future”, points out the booklet “On the future of the Falkland Islands”.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 06:08 UTC

  OAS will send observers to the February 17 general elections in Ecuador

  

  The Organization of American States will be sending observers to the coming presidential and legislative elections in Ecuador next month and to that effect OAS and Ecuador signed the agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of Observers which provides the conditions for the work of the Electoral Observation Mission.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 06:02 UTC

  Venezuela wants best of relations with the US based on ‘mutual absolute respect’

  

  Vice-president Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that Venezuela is willing to have the ‘best possible relations’ with the US government as long as these are based on respect and equality. He added that it was President Hugo Chavez who instructed the newly named Foreign minister Elias Jaua on the issue.

• Friday, January 18th 2013 - 00:20 UTC

  Dengue fastest growing tropical disease; represents ‘pandemic threat’, says WHO

  

  Dengue is the world’s fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a “pandemic threat,” infecting an estimated 50 million people across all continents, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week.

• Thursday, January 17th 2013 - 22:02 UTC

  Uruguay’s growth estimates for this year, 3.86%, according to private estimates

  

  Private analysts lowered their forecasts for Uruguay’s GDP growth this year from an average of 4% in December to 3.86%, according to the latest monthly survey on economic expectations released by the Central Bank. Expectations for January ranged between 3.2% and 4%.