Latin America

• Saturday, August 28th 2010 - 06:16 UTC

  Unusually low temperatures empties Bolivian rivers of fish

  

  With high Andean peaks and a humid tropical forest, Bolivia is a country of ecological extremes. But during the Southern Hemisphere's recent winter, unusually low temperatures in part of the country's tropical region hit freshwater species hard, killing an estimated 6 million fish and thousands of alligators, turtles and river dolphins.

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 16:30 UTC

  Chile Looks to Relax Casino Laws to Cater Cruise Ship Tourism

  

  The Ministry of the Economy is planning to send a bill to Chile’s Congress that would allow cruise ships to operate their casinos while in Chilean waters. This would repeal a section of the 2005 Casinos Act that requires all cruise ships to shut down their casinos when they pass within 13.8 miles of Chile's shoreline.

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 08:18 UTC

  Mexico to impose strict limits on cash transactions to fight organized crime

  

  Following the discovery of 72 bodies in northern Mexico, allegedly illegal immigrants heading for United States killed by one of the country’s main drug-cartels, Mexican President Felipe Calderon proposed Thursday a new package of measures against money laundering to help fight organized crime.

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 08:13 UTC

  Cuba promotes luxury golf courses by giving state-land for 99 years

  

  The cash-strapped Cuban government will allow foreign investors to use state-owned land for up to 99 years in a change that is likely to bring developments of luxury golf courses to the communist island.

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 08:02 UTC

  Peru combats the inflow of capital raising banks’ reserve requirements

  

  Peru’s central bank will raise the reserve requirement for foreign banks depositing local currency in the domestic banking system after the Sol rose to a two- year high.

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 07:59 UTC

  European Southern Observatory In Chile Discovers New Solar System

  

  Some 127 light years away in the constellation of Hydrus, a new solar system has been discovered by a team of astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Cerro La Silla in Chile’s Coquimbo Region (IV).

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 07:51 UTC

  Air France To Increase Flights Between France and Chile

  

  Air France announced that beginning September 6, it will add more flights between Paris and Santiago. The airline currently offers five flights per week, but by September plans to increase that number to seven.

• Friday, August 27th 2010 - 07:48 UTC

  End of subsidized cigarettes for elderly Cubans

  

  Cuba's elderly will no longer be entitled to state-subsidised cigarettes, the government has said. All Cubans 55 or older are allocated four packs of cigarettes a month for about 25% the normal price, but this privilege is being ended in September.

• Thursday, August 26th 2010 - 03:41 UTC

  Mercosur spends less that 2% of GDP in defence; “no arms race in the region”

  

  South America and particularly Mercosur spend less than 2% of GDP in military hardware which makes it the world region that less invests in defence, said a high ranking official from the Barak Obama administration visiting Paraguay.

• Thursday, August 26th 2010 - 03:16 UTC

  Chavez faces the toughest election in his more than 11 years in office

  

  Oil rich Venezuela’s September 26 legislative elections campaign was officially launched Wednesday which promise to be a tough test for President Hugo Chavez following a year of recession, growing inflation and rampant crime rate.