Latin America

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 07:23 UTC

  Following weeks of strikes, Chile government open to discuss education reform

  

  After two months of school takeovers and strikes, marches and more, there may be some light at the end of the Chilean student protests. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announced on Sunday his willingness and commitment to exploring constitutional change for national education reform—something long demanded by the students.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 23:02 UTC

  As promised Chavez went on national television with his Yul Brynner look

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez appeared before cameras on Monday sporting a shaved head, as the effects of chemotherapy begin to take a toll on his body. Chavez, though, looked energetic and even joked about his “new look” which he had anticipated last week as the “Yul Brynner” look.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 06:19 UTC

  All small retail outlets to be “privatized” by next October announced Cuba

  

  Cuba will broaden private retail service beyond beauty parlours and barbers in October to include everything from coffee shops to locksmiths, and may even rent space on busy streets, an official told parliament.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 06:08 UTC

  After one year in office Colombia’s Santos has a strong 71% approval rating

  

  Close to his first year in office Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has an approval rating of 71%, according to the findings of a public opinion poll released Sunday in the Bogotá media.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 06:03 UTC

  Magallanes region exports total 148 million dollars in first quarter

  

  Exports from Magallanes region in the extreme south of Chile totalled 148 million dollars during the first quarter of the year which is 10.5% higher than a year ago (134 million dollars), according to Chile’s national Statistics Office.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 05:53 UTC

  The most tragic year in two decades for Latin America journalists

  

  Journalists in Latin America are suffering through their “most tragic year in two decades,” with 19 reporters murdered in nine nations so far in 2011, the Inter-American Press Association said in its latest release.

• Saturday, July 30th 2011 - 22:43 UTC

  South America as a region to discuss measures to counter global financial crisis

  

  South America’s top economic and monetary authorities will be meeting in Lima and later in Buenos Aires to agree on “joint and specific actions” to address the flush of global liquidity distorting regional currencies and of unsold manufactured goods threatening jobs and industry.

• Saturday, July 30th 2011 - 22:12 UTC

  Cuba allows more charter flights from the US; 350.000 visited the island in 2010

  

  Air travel between the United States and Cuba will become easier with the opening of charter flights to the island from an additional nine US cities announced by Cuba authorities on Friday.

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 07:21 UTC

  “Deep changes since 2006” should pave the way for Venezuela’s return to CAN

  

  The Venezuelan-Colombian Chamber for Economic Integration (Cavecol) has formally requested national authorities that Venezuela re-joins the Andean Community of Nations, CAN, from which it pulled out three months ago following the original decision dating back to 2006.

• Friday, July 29th 2011 - 07:02 UTC

  Latam and Caribbean hold 727bn dollars in US government debt assets

  

  The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, expressed public concern about the ongoing discussions between the White House and Congress regarding the governments’ borrowing limit and the August 2 deadline to reach an agreement.