
Argentina and Chile have reached an understanding to join efforts in promoting receptive tourism in far distant overseas markets. The document was signed last week by Chile’s Deputy Secretary for Tourism Jacqueline Plass and the Argentine Tourism minister Enrique Meyer at the Argentina embassy in Santiago de Chile.

Peruvian president-elect Ollanta Humala will be meeting next Wednesday President Barack Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Humala is expected in Washington on Tuesday.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez made a surprise homecoming on Monday after cancer surgery in Cuba and declared himself fine despite speculation he may still require lengthy treatment.

The authorities in Cuba have released more details of their plans to allow people to buy and sell their cars and homes for the first time in 50 years. The new laws will open up a private property market and enable Cubans to buy any car they can afford.

The United Nations added 18 new sites to its global list of biosphere reserves, (including one in Chilean Patagonia) bringing the total to 581 in 114 different countries, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is recovering satisfactorily from surgery to remove a cancerous tumour and will be home soon, the head of the country’s military said on Friday.

Bolivian president Evo Morales apologized to the Argentine Jewish community for having received on an official visit the Iranian Defence minister Ahmad Vahido, who is wanted by the Argentine justice system for his alleged involvement in the 1994 anti-Semite attack in Buenos Aires.

Finance Minister Felipe Larraín advanced efforts to integrate the Chilean and London stock exchanges during a recent visit to the United Kingdom. A delegation of government officials and business leaders accompanied the minister on his trip to promote foreign investment in Chile.

Argentina is promoting the idea of an OPEC-like cartel for itself, Bolivia and Chile, which together control 85% of the world's reserves of lithium, a key component in electric car batteries.

Doctors detected and removed a cancerous tumor from Hugo Chavez's body, the Venezuelan president announced in a speech broadcast on state-run VTV Thursday night.