Latin America

• 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”.

• Wednesday, August 15th 2012 - 09:02 UTC

  Puricelli praises defence links with Chile and support for Argentine Malvinas claim

  

  Relations with Chile are an example of the fabulous transformation of regional politics in the last three decades, said Argentine Defence minister Arturo Puricelli during a conference at the Chilean military school.

• Wednesday, August 15th 2012 - 08:50 UTC

  Students and police clash in Santiago; mayor threatens to cancel protestors scholarships

  

  For a third day running Chilean riot police broke up protests by students who had taken control of several high schools in the capital Santiago to demand education reform.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2012 - 08:27 UTC

  LATAM airlines planning a 359 strong fleet by 2014

  

  Chile's newly merged regional carrier LATAM Airlines said on Monday it would spend 7.87 billion dollars on its fleet through 2014. The airline aims to have a 359-strong fleet by 2014, up from the 319 planes projected for this year.

• Monday, August 13th 2012 - 22:21 UTC

  Limited effect for the Falklands of Argentina’s latest ban on Red Ensign vessels

  

  The Buenos Aires Province Senate on 2 August passed a law last week banning British flagged vessels associated with activities in Falkland Islands waters from calling at Argentina’s largest ports.

• Monday, August 13th 2012 - 05:55 UTC

  Santiago sacks Mayor of Magallanes region for alleged irregularities

  

  Chile’s Presidency secretary Andrés Chadwick confirmed that the former Mayor from Magallanes Region in the extreme south of the country, Arturo Storaker had effectively resigned because of alleged irregularities during his performance.