Latin America

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 22:27 UTC

  Venezuela severs relations with Colombia following row over guerrilla havens

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez broke off his country's relations with neighbouring Colombia Thursday over allegations that Colombian rebels were operating in Venezuela.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 17:08 UTC

  King crab season takes off in southern Chile; 2.600 tons were caught in 2009

  

  Chile’s King Crab season has officially kicked off for this year. The southern king crab is a delicacy in Chile, as 90% of each year’s catch is shipped to markets in Europe, North America and Asia. In Santiago, fresh king crab starts at about 25 US dollars per pound.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 10:14 UTC

  Chile considering bill to encourage repatriation of funds from abroad

  

  The Chilean government’s interest in creating a law to encourage the repatriation of funds from abroad received approval by a number of tax experts this past week, reported local media. The proposal, which was first mentioned publicly, last week would allow money earned outside the country to enter Chile, but at a lower tax rate.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 09:44 UTC

  Santiago de Chile shows strong divide between the rich and poor

  

  The Chilean national CASEN Survey revealed last week that even though poverty in the capital Santiago is below the national poverty rate of 15.1%, the city’s poverty levels grew from 10.6 to 11.5% in the last three years.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 09:36 UTC

  Ecuador leader will be in Bogotá when Colombian president-elect takes office

  

  Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa announced Wednesday he would be attending Colombian president-elect Juan Manuel Santos taking-office ceremony next August 7, according to a report from the government news agency ‘Andes’.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 09:30 UTC

  Human Rights Watch calls on Chavez to eliminate office to control public debate

  

  Venezuela should close a recently created office that grants President Hugo Chávez administration broad powers to limit public debate, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a release. The government should also stop seeking to discredit human rights defenders and prosecuting critics.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 09:19 UTC

  Former president Bachelet joint Inter-American Dialogue think-tank

  

  Former president of Chile Michelle Bachelet has joined the Inter-American Dialogue’s Board of Directors to serve as its Latin American Co-Chair.

• Thursday, July 22nd 2010 - 02:31 UTC

  Mercosur driving the strong recovery in Latam and Caribbean, says UN

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean is consolidating its recovery from the global economic slowdown, posting higher-than-expected growth in recent months. Although some countries in the region face serious pitfalls, according to a new United Nations report, Mercosur stands out as driving the revival.

• Wednesday, July 21st 2010 - 07:07 UTC

  Hundreds of dead penguins washed up on Brazilian beaches

  

  Hundreds of penguins have been washed up dead on the beaches of Brazil southern state of Sao Paulo.

• Wednesday, July 21st 2010 - 07:04 UTC

  Peru and Chile agree on confidence building measures in defence affairs

  

  Peruvian Defence Minister Rafael Rey said this week that representatives from Chile and Peru would meet next Monday for the first time in an effort to establish common criteria for approving military expenditures. Rey also said he would meet with his Chilean counterpart, Jaime Ravinet, in Lima in August.