Latin America

• Friday, November 12th 2010 - 13:44 UTC

  Peruvian economy steaming ahead at 8%; top of the list in the region for business

  

  Finance Minister Ismael Benavides said Peru's economy should grow between 8% and 8.5% this year, with inflation ending the year from 2.2% to 2.5%. The Peruvian Central Bank latest forecast was annual growth of 7.5% to 8%.

• Friday, November 12th 2010 - 13:21 UTC

  Colombian Senate approves Unasur founding charter

  

  Ecuadorean Foreign Affairs minister Ricardo Patiño hailed the approval by the Colombian Senate of the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, charter which leaves the group one short of its legal constitution. The Uruguayan parliament is expected to follow suit in coming days.

• Friday, November 12th 2010 - 00:47 UTC

  Japanese companies will help Bolivia with lithium added-value by-products

  

  Japan’s Sumitomo and Mitsubishi will send experts and equipment to Bolivia to support efforts to produce value-added lithium by-products in the Andean nation, state media reported.

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 22:04 UTC

  Latin American leaders at G-20 call for responsibility from rich countries

  

  Leaders from Brazil, Mexico and Argentina in the framework of the G-20 summit in Korea called on rich countries for a commitment to end the “currencies war” and ensure balanced growth out of the current crisis.

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 21:35 UTC

  Former FARC hostage claims Colombia treats her “as a criminal, not a victim”

  

  Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate who was held captive by the FARC guerrilla for six years, accuses Colombia of treating her “worse than a criminal” since she was rescued in 2008, according to reports in the Argentine press.

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 20:29 UTC

  Chilean government supports Muslim school girl use of ‘hijab’

  

  Yasmin Elsayed, a 9-year old girl who was prohibited from wearing a hijab (an Islamic head scarf) at the W. A. Mozart School in the La Reina borough of Chile’s capital Santiago, was allowed to register again for the 2011 school year this week.

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 14:44 UTC

  ISA virus outbreak detected on salmon farm in southern Chile

  

  SERNAPESCA, Chile’s national marine fisheries service, has declared an Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) outbreak on a salmon farm in the Magallanes Region (XII).

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 11:41 UTC

  Transition processes in Argentina and Brazil seen from Washington

  

  The Washington Post in one of this week’s editorials referred to the ‘transition process’ going on in South America’s two largest economies, Argentina and Brazil, after almost a decade of populist leadership.

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 06:07 UTC

  India set to become second largest copper consumer by 2020

  

  COCHILCO, Chile’s copper commission, estimates that by the end of this decade, India’s demand for copper will rise from the current figure of 610,000 tons to between 2.4 million and 3.6 million tons annually.

• Thursday, November 11th 2010 - 00:17 UTC

  Stranded cruise towed to San Diego; Navy choppers supply food to 4.500 pax

  

  Cruise ship “Carnival Splendour” carrying 4,500 passengers and crew members is being slowly towed towards San Diego, California after an engine room fire disabled its ability to move on its own.