Latin America

• Thursday, October 20th 2011 - 06:48 UTC

  Repsol invites US to check its oil rig standards before drilling in Cuban waters

  

  Repsol YPF SA, which is scheduled to begin exploratory drilling in Cuban waters, has offered US agencies an opportunity to inspect the vessel and its equipment before it arrives at the well site, US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Michael R. Bromwich said.

• Thursday, October 20th 2011 - 04:21 UTC

  ‘The role of the State’ to be discusses in the Ibero-American summit

  

  “State reform and development” will be driving force of the coming Ibero-American summit to take place next week, October 28/29 in Paraguay and already has the attendance confirmation of eighteen presidents, according to the organizers.

• Thursday, October 20th 2011 - 04:13 UTC

  Mexican group organizing round of conferences on the Falklands/Malvinas war

  

  The Solidarity with Malvinas Islands Group in Mexico is organizing a round of conferences next April/June in coincidence with the 30th anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas war to which will be invited academics both from Argentina and the UK.

• Thursday, October 20th 2011 - 00:10 UTC

  Argentina, Brazil and Mexico attempt to harmonize positions ahead of G20

  

  Argentina, Brazil and Mexico meeting in Uruguay ahead of the G-20 summit in France next November, agreed to demand a greater role for the region in global affairs and in helping to resolve the global economic crisis.

• Wednesday, October 19th 2011 - 23:17 UTC

  Piñera looses support from business sector in the conflict over education reform

  

  Following on the examples of their German, French and some US peers, Chilean business leaders have asked for an increase in taxes they pay to help finance social demands in spite of the strong opposition of President Sebastián Piñera administration.

• Wednesday, October 19th 2011 - 15:16 UTC

  The Economist: Latin American universities far from excellence in higher education

  

  The Economist has an interesting article, and comments, on the quality of higher education in Latin America based on the latest ratings from UK, US and Chinese education consultancies.

• Tuesday, October 18th 2011 - 20:40 UTC

  Human rights commission calls on Morales to protect Amazon Indian tribes

  

  The Inter American Human Rights Commission called on the Bolivian government to protect the indigenous tribes protesting the construction of a road crossing their reservation, following on reports of use of excess of force by the police in charge of containing the protest march.

• Tuesday, October 18th 2011 - 18:57 UTC

  Beware of self-complacency Iglesias tells Latin American leaders

  

  The Ibero-American summit scheduled for October 28/29 in Paraguay will be ‘much dominated’ by current global events said Secretary General Enrique Iglesias who also warned on the risks of self-complacency in Latin America.

• Tuesday, October 18th 2011 - 18:42 UTC

  As volcanic ash cloud recedes air traffic returning to normal in Argentina and Uruguay

  

  Regular operations have gradually resumed at the main airports of Buenos Aires and in Montevideo’s Carrasco air terminal, where most flights had been cancelled since Sunday due to ash cloud generated from Chile's volcano eruption, authorities said.

• Tuesday, October 18th 2011 - 17:04 UTC

  Rioting in Santiago on the first of a two-day national strike in support of students’ demands

  

  Chilean students have erected fiery blockades in major streets of the capital and clashed with police on Tuesday, first day of a two-day national strike to demand that the government reform the education system.