Latin America

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 17:06 UTC

  Seatrade Conference: South America cruise vessel operating costs ‘unbearable’

  

  Cruise vessel operating costs in South America are becoming unbearable according to company representatives speaking at the South America Seatrade Conference.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 16:56 UTC

  UN forecasts unemployment in Latin America will drop below 7% in 2011

  

  The strong economic recovery of Latin America and the Caribbean will make it possible to bring down unemployment significantly from 7.3% in 2010 to between 6.7% and 7.0% in 2011, according to ECLAC and ILO.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 02:48 UTC

  Peru’s Humala interested in joining “political” mechanisms of Mercosur

  

  Peru is interested in regional integration, security, education, combating narcotics but full membership of Mercosur is “distant” said president elect Ollanta Humala during a one day visit to Uruguay, before leaving late Monday for Argentina.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 02:46 UTC

  Venezuelan president recovering in Cuba says he is in “full capacities”

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Monday he had his “full faculties” after an operation in Cuba and was still managing government affairs despite being ordered to rest for several days more.

• Monday, June 13th 2011 - 23:37 UTC

  Millions of farm-salmon in south Chile moved because of the volcanic eruption

  

  Chile’s National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) authorized the transfer of more than five million salmon from three farms in the south of the country. The decision was taken as a precautionary measure because of the eruption of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic range and possible pollution of rivers and lakes.

• Monday, June 13th 2011 - 22:40 UTC

  River Plate airports with no air traffic until Tuesday morning

  

  A remnant of volcanic ashes spewed by the Chilean volcano Puyehue over a week ago and which continues to hover over the River Plate again interrupted Monday activities in the three main airports, Carrasco in Montevideo and Ezeiza and Aeroparque in the city of Buenos Aires.

• Monday, June 13th 2011 - 16:25 UTC

  Unasur, looking at the EU, freezes project for common currency and central bank

  

  The Union of South American Nations, UNASUR has frozen the project for a common currency and Central Bank following on conclusions from the European Union experience (and crisis), said the Argentine representative before the organization.

• Monday, June 13th 2011 - 16:20 UTC

  Agriculture emergency is Argentine Patagonia because of the volcanic ash

  

  The Argentine government is expected to announce Monday an agriculture emergency in several Patagonian areas as a consequence of the Chilean Andes volcanic eruption that has covered most of the territory with a blanket of ash leaving thousands of sheep with no water or pasture.

• Monday, June 13th 2011 - 12:30 UTC

  Chilean Navy purchase of Dutch frigates under scrutiny

  

  Weapons dealer Guillermo Ibieta will face questioning this week about a possible link between his company and four second-hand frigates purchased from the Netherlands for the Chilean Navy in 2005, according to Chilean daily La Tercera.

• Monday, June 13th 2011 - 11:37 UTC

  Volcanic ash cloud reaches New Zealand and Australia

  

  A cloud of ash from an erupting volcano in Chile has drifted over the Atlantic and Indian oceans to lie over southern parts of New Zealand and Australia, prompting the cancellation of dozens of flights.