Latin America

• Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 - 00:05 UTC

  Mines swept by heavy rainfall forces closure of Chile/Peru border passage

  

  A main border pass between Chile and Peru remains closed to all traffic because recent heavy rainfall and flooding have swept antipersonnel and anti-tank mines in the region, in some cases all the way to the Pacific, where beaches have been put out of limits.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2012 - 23:59 UTC

  President Chavez announces he has to undergo another operation

  

  Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez said on Tuesday he would have to undergo another operation after doctors in Cuba found a lesion in his pelvis where surgeons removed a large cancerous tumour last year.

• Tuesday, February 21st 2012 - 21:14 UTC

  Suspending Lan flight can only be seen as an “economic blockade” against the people of the Falklands

  

  British ambassador in Chile Jon Benjamin said that if Lan flights to the Falkland Islands from Chile are suspended this can only be interpreted as an “economic blockade” of the Islands and strongly suggested that the administration of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is trumpeting the Malvinas card pushed by “domestic interests”.

• Friday, February 17th 2012 - 18:45 UTC

  Ecuador highest-court ratifies ruling against the press; publisher granted asylum in Panama

  

  Panama on Thursday granted asylum to Ecuadorean newspaper publisher Carlos Perez, one of three executives facing prison after losing a libel suit seen as a key test of press freedoms in Ecuador.

• Thursday, February 16th 2012 - 20:51 UTC

  Sean Penn should return his Malibu estate to the Mexicans

  

  By Dr Tim Stanley - During his recent tour of Argentina and Uruguay as UN ambassador at large for Haiti made some unfortunate statements regarding the Falklands/Malvinas diplomatic dispute arguing that “It would be nothing short of bullying, to not sit down and diplomatically negotiate a fair sharing of any resources discovered between Argentina and the United Kingdom”.

• Thursday, February 16th 2012 - 20:43 UTC

  Controversy in Nicaragua over contribution for ALBA development bank

  

  Nicaragua’s Central Bank President Antenor Rosales quit following a disagreement with President Daniel Ortega over the use of foreign currency reserves to fund a regional bank for the Venezuelan-led bloc of eight nations known as Alba, (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas).

• Thursday, February 16th 2012 - 07:16 UTC

  Brazil wants open selection process when Zoellick leaves World Bank presidency

  

  Brazil urged the World Bank on Wednesday to give proper consideration to developing country candidates to replace outgoing president Robert Zoellick and not just go with an American.

• Thursday, February 16th 2012 - 04:39 UTC

  Ban Ki-moon praises Latinamerica on 45th anniversary of nuclear weapon-free zone pact

  

  On the 45th anniversary of the treaty that created a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the pact as an example of how regional initiatives can advance global norms on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of atomic energy.

• Wednesday, February 15th 2012 - 05:50 UTC

  Brazil and Germany committed to achieve the EU/Mercosur trade agreement

  

  Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota and his visiting German counterpart Guido Westerwelle on Monday called for signing a free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur.

• Wednesday, February 15th 2012 - 05:42 UTC

  Cameron rings Chilean president to discuss Falklands and self determination

  

  Chilean president Sebastián Piñera received a surprise phone call at his summer residence on Tuesday afternoon from PM David Cameron who referred to the current Falklands dispute.