Latin America

• Friday, August 17th 2012 - 00:11 UTC

  Latam business climate index at 9 months low, approaching “risk of recession”

  

  Latinamerica business climate dropped to its lowest level in nine months with “risk of recession” according to the index elaborated by the Economics Department from the prestigious Brazilian Getulio Vargas Foundation, FGV.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 19:52 UTC

  Struggle for education reform in Chile: police arrest 70 students occupying schools

  

  Chilean police stormed on Thursday three schools in the centre of Santiago, overtaken by students for the past week, and arrested 70 young people who were involved in the protests demanding education reform.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 19:27 UTC

  UK determined to extradite Assange in spite of asylum granted by Ecuador

  

  Ecuador has granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange two months after he took refuge in its London embassy while fighting extradition from the UK, but Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK would not allow Assange safe passage out of the country.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 05:02 UTC

  China soon to become Venezuela’s main trade partner; oil sales soared 60% this year

  

  Venezuelan oil sales to China have jumped by 60% since the start of the year, the country's oil minister said in an interview published on Sunday in the state-run Correo del Orinoco.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 04:52 UTC

  Unasur not after reinstatement of Lugo; wants political dialogue in Paraguay

  

  Unasur (Union of South American Nations) wants to closely accompany the democratic restoration process in Paraguay and is not after the reinstatement of removed president Fernando Lugo, said Peruvian Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Roncagliolo.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 02:26 UTC

  Mujica working for more trade agreements and a Mercosur with ‘flexibility’

  

  Uruguay needs “new markets and new partners” and must try to diversify trade with the largest possible number of agreements to make Mercosur more flexible and anticipate the current process in Argentina, said President Jose Mujica.

• Thursday, August 16th 2012 - 01:29 UTC

  For consular purposes Uruguay considers Malvinas as the “dependent territory” of the Islas Falklands

  

  For consular purposes the Uruguayan Foreign Affairs ministry refers to the Malvinas Islands, which are claimed by Argentina with the support of Mercosur members, as the “dependent territory” of the “Islas Falklands”.

• Wednesday, August 15th 2012 - 23:50 UTC

  Uruguay discourages short-term capital inflow to ensure macroeconomic stability

  

  Uruguay's central bank unveiled measures on Wednesday aimed at cooling the local Peso's appreciation by discouraging foreign investment in the bank's short-term debt. To combat the Peso's rise, officials ordered that 40% of new foreign capital invested in central bank bills be frozen in an account at the central bank.

• Wednesday, August 15th 2012 - 09:43 UTC

  Unasur ratifies sanctions; Paraguay president more concerned with OAS position

  

  Unasur ratified on Tuesday Paraguay’s suspension from the block at a meeting of the so called High Level Group in Lima, Peru which assessed the situation of the landlocked country.

• Wednesday, August 15th 2012 - 09:10 UTC

  Paraguayan president calls for moderation from the Senate on the Venezuela issue

  

  Paraguayan president Federico Franco called for moderation and time from members of Congress when they begin considering Venezuela’s request to become a full member of Mercosur, since the issue needs of “a good in depth analysis and no hasty decision”.