Latin America

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 07:26 UTC

  Chavez praises defence cooperation with Argentina, making Mercosur a military power block

  

  President Hugo Chavez underlined the significance of the defence cooperation memorandum signed between Venezuela and Argentina which is part of “the necessary strategic integration of the armed forces in the framework of Mercosur and turning the block into a military power”.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 07:20 UTC

  Cuba says cholera outbreak in under control: 3 dead, 158 confirmed cases

  

  The cholera outbreak in eastern Cuba is diminishing and has not spread to other parts of the country, said the government on Sunday.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 07:11 UTC

  Paraguay optimistic about the OAS report and its repercussions

  

  Paraguay is optimistic about an Organization of American States resolution regarding recent events and the current situation in the country, despite strong criticism from other regional organizations such as Mercosur and Unasur.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 03:43 UTC

  Mining projects knock down Peruvian president approval ratings to new lows

  

  Peruvian President Ollanta Humala's approval rating fell to a fresh low in July, a year since he took office as concern grows over his handling of increasingly violent social conflicts, an opinion poll showed.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 03:29 UTC

  Royal Navy largest ship, HMS Ocean begins her Olympic deployment

  

  One hundred and fifty sailors and aircrew recreated the Olympic Rings on the flight deck of the Royal Navy's largest ship to mark the start of her Olympic deployment for the 2012 London Games.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 03:05 UTC

  Mercosur reduced to a group “of bear-hugging and kissing compañeros”

  

  The influential British business and politics magazine The Economist anticipates that following the latest decisions by Mercosur, the South American group has little if any future. The Economist argues that the mounting protectionism and the rule-breaking admission of Venezuela have fatally undermined a once-promising trade block.

• Saturday, July 14th 2012 - 07:46 UTC

  Venezuela/Argentina sign military cooperation in framework of Unasur Defence Council

  

  Venezuelan Defence minister Henry Rangel Silva and his Argentine peer Arturo Puricelli signed on Friday a cooperation agreement to further advance in the integration of the two armed forces in the framework of the Unasur Defence Council.

• Saturday, July 14th 2012 - 07:39 UTC

  Bolivia announces the “end of Coca Cola and capitalism” for December 21

  

  December 21, the austral summer solstice, will mark the end of Coca Cola and capitalism and the start of a new cosmic era of community spirit and love, announced Bolivia’s Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca.

• Saturday, July 14th 2012 - 07:30 UTC

  Humboldt penguins threatened by eggs and chicks eating rats

  

  Humboldt penguins are threatened by inexorable man and …rats. Invading rats with bodies up to 20 centimetres long have begun eating eggs and chicks, and some experts fear that unless the rats are eradicated, they could tip the Humboldt penguin toward extinction.

• Saturday, July 14th 2012 - 07:17 UTC

  Chile and Peru, best performing economies of the region leave rates unchanged

  

  Chile and Peru opted this week against following the lead set by nations from Brazil to South Korea in cutting interest rates as economic growth and slowing inflation in the Pacific neighbors gave central bankers little reason to change monetary policy