Latin America

• Wednesday, February 1st 2012 - 00:01 UTC

  System of rivers beneath Antarctica’s frozen surface found by Brazil/Chile team

  

  A team of Brazilian and Chilean scientists set out to investigate the effects of global climate change deep in the Antarctic continent say they have discovered a surprising system of rivers beneath the frozen surface.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 17:39 UTC

  Chile almost close to “full employment”; shortage of manpower in some sectors

  

  Chile’s unemployment rate unexpectedly declined in the three months through December to 6.6% from 7.1% as the retail, mining and construction industries expanded, the National Statistics Institute said on Tuesday. The situation according to economists is close to “full employment”.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 05:39 UTC

  Dilma Rousseff arrives in Havana to advance trade and investment relations

  

  Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff arrived Monday to Cuba for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and human rights. From Cuba Rousseff will travel on to Haiti as she aims to continue the regional diplomatic outreach of her popular predecessor, Lula da Silva.

• Tuesday, January 31st 2012 - 05:22 UTC

  Brazilian company signs agreement to recover the defunct Cuban sugar industry

  

  Brazilian builder Odebrecht plans to produce sugar in Cuba, the company said on Monday as incentives for foreign investment in the Castro family’s regime raise hopes of a recovery in the once-booming sector after decades of decline.

• Monday, January 30th 2012 - 21:45 UTC

  Unasur members begin sharing information on defence expenditure

  

  Six South American countries are sharing for the first time in history information on defence expenditure which is seen as a first concrete step to leave behind border disputes and ensure peace in the region, said delegates from Chile, Ecuador and Unasur, Union of South American Nations.

• Monday, January 30th 2012 - 09:45 UTC

  Chile, Brazil and Uruguay among the world’s leading exporters of wood chips

  

  Wood chip exports from Latin America are on track to reach a record high of almost eight million tons in 2011, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. This would be an increase of 7% from last year and of almost 60% higher than in 2006.

• Monday, January 30th 2012 - 09:40 UTC

  Venezuela convenes an ALBA summit to propose creating an economic space

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called for a presidential summit of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of our America, ALBA, for next February 5 in Caracas when it is expected Chavez will insist in the creation of an economic block.

• Monday, January 30th 2012 - 09:28 UTC

  Balloon tests for indefinite re-election of President Cristina Fernandez

  

  The possibility of a constitutional amendment to allow Argentine President Cristina Fernandez a third consecutive mandate is being seriously considered and publicly hailed and tested by her most ultra-orthodox followers although no projects have been presented to Congress.

• Monday, January 30th 2012 - 06:53 UTC

  Jack mackerel disappearing in South Pacific, fingers point to Chile

  

  Jack mackerel stocks have plummeted from an estimated 30 million tons to less than 3 million in 20 years. An eight-country investigation of the fishing industry in the southern Pacific by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) shows that this phenomenon foreshadows progressive collapse of fish populations across the world's oceans.

• Monday, January 30th 2012 - 06:40 UTC

  American Airlines increases flights to seven major Brazilian cities

  

  American Airlines announced changes to its coming spring and summer schedule that will expand the airline’s presence in Brazil. Next December, American’s route between Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Sao Paulo (GRU) will be operating with the new state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER, making Brazil the first market for the new aircraft.