Latin America

• Monday, November 29th 2010 - 06:49 UTC

  Haiti presidential candidates claim elections were rigged; UN urges for calm

  

  Unite Nations officials Sunday expressed “deep concern at numerous incidents” that disrupted Haiti's pivotal national elections that saw violence and protests over alleged fraud.

• Saturday, November 27th 2010 - 13:24 UTC

  Ecuador and Colombia re-establish full diplomatic relations

  

  The presidents of Colombia and Ecuador announced Friday they will resume full diplomatic relations after more than two years of estrangement.

• Saturday, November 27th 2010 - 12:06 UTC

  Unasur unable to agree on secretary; closes all ports to ‘illegal’ Malvinas flagged vessels

  

  The presidents of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) meeting at a summit in Guyana paid homage to former president Nestor Kirchner, agreed to incorporate a “democratic clause” to the group’s charter, left for next month a decision on who will be named the next secretary general and had a special mention to the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the UK. Argentina also revealed that the post should be occupied by an Argentine.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 14:55 UTC

  Lula da Silva promises energy, communications and trade aid for Guyana

  

  Brazilian President Lula da Silva announced Friday an ambitious integration program for its northern neighbor Guyana, on the sidelines of a regional presidential summit taking place in Georgetown.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 14:47 UTC

  Venezuela pays 690m USD for 81% of French Casino supermarkets in the country

  

  Venezuela agreed to pay Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA 690 million US dollars for an 81% stake in the Saint-Etienne, France-based company’s local supermarkets, said Elias Jaua, vice president of the Venezuela’s official news agency, AVN.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 05:39 UTC

  Unasur ministers reach consensus on a “democratic clause”

  

  Unasur Foreign Affairs ministers meeting in Guyana reached on Thursday a consensus on a “democratic clause” to be incorporated to the group’s charter with the purpose of preventing coups in the region. The draft will be officially presented to the twelve nations’ presidential summit.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 02:18 UTC

  Uruguay’s Lower House approves Unasur; Senate votes next Tuesday

  

  Uruguay’s Lower House approved on Thursday the Unasur (Union of South American Nations) constitution protocol sending a strong message of support to the group’s summit in Guyana.

• Thursday, November 25th 2010 - 21:25 UTC

  First time ever woman president (for a few days) in Uruguay

  

  Uruguay’s First Lady and speaker of the main Senate group in the ruling coalition Lucia Topolansky will be sworn as interim president on Friday, the first woman-president in the history of the Uruguayan democracy.

• Thursday, November 25th 2010 - 04:34 UTC

  Latinamerica not involved in an arms race and can further reduce defence costs

  

  Latinamerican countries are not involved in an arms race and can further cut into military expenditure because it is essentially a region of peace, said the Defence ministers of the Americas IXth conference meeting in Bolivia.

• Thursday, November 25th 2010 - 04:26 UTC

  The Economist analyzes Uruguay’s debate on rejecting the “Expiration Law”

  

  Néstor Kirchner Argentina’s late former president first became popular by pushing for the repeal of the amnesties and pardons that prior governments had granted to members of the country’s bloody 1976-83 dictatorship. Argentines cheered when the Supreme Court ruled the laws unconstitutional in 2005, and have supported the hundreds of prosecutions for human-rights abuses that have been launched since then.