Latin America

• Friday, June 4th 2010 - 00:37 UTC

  Transparency International calls on OAS for strong anti-corruption action

  

  The urgent need to take anti-corruption from rhetoric to actions is a decisive challenge for the 33 heads of state meeting at the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS) taking place from 6-8 June in Lima.

• Thursday, June 3rd 2010 - 22:58 UTC

  Security, mutual trust and migration in Unasur dialogue with Washington

  

  The need for a mutual-trust environment, which helps avoid situations of possible conflicts inside the region, is one of the main points the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, will be discussing with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to Ecuadorian diplomatic sources.

• Thursday, June 3rd 2010 - 06:21 UTC

  Oliver Stone and film “South of the Border” greeted by thousands of Bolivians

  

  Noted US political firebrand and film director Oliver Stone attended the Bolivian premiere of his documentary “South of the Border” Tuesday night at El Coliseo La Coronilla, an enormous indoor sports stadium in Cochabamba.

• Thursday, June 3rd 2010 - 06:13 UTC

  Cuban political prisoners’ families hopeful of further positive signs

  

  The families of Cuban political prisoners expressed their hope Wednesday that those who are sick may be released. On Tuesday, Cuban authorities began the first transfers of political prisoners to jails near their homes, Catholic Church officials and the opposition said.

• Thursday, June 3rd 2010 - 06:05 UTC

  Colombia’s Santos sends ‘peace and respect message” to Chavez

  

  Colombian presidential candidate and favourite to win this month’s run-off Juan Manuel Santos anticipated he would be proposing Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez a “rebuilding of bilateral links”, if he is finally elected.

• Thursday, June 3rd 2010 - 02:09 UTC

  Kirchner makes his international debut as Unasur chair in Paraguay

  

  Former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner met Wednesday with Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo and other Congressional and political leaders in Asunción in what became his first official meeting as head of the South American Nations Union (UNASUR).

• Thursday, June 3rd 2010 - 00:04 UTC

  Peruvian president Garcia calls for immigration bill during meeting with Obama

  

  United States President Barack Obama held talks with his Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia in the White House and praised the South American country’s economic performance and consolidated democracy.

• Wednesday, June 2nd 2010 - 23:03 UTC

  Chilean navy upgrades communications in anticipation of future disasters

  

  Chilean Navy Commander in Chief Edmundo Gonzalez announced this week that the institution will be spending around 10 million US dollars on new, state of the art communications equipment for its SHOA (Hydrographical and Oceanographic Service) office.

• Wednesday, June 2nd 2010 - 22:44 UTC

  Chile's El Mercurio celebrates 110th anniversary

  

  Chile’s most widely distributed newspaper, El Mercurio, has celebrated a birthday. On June 1, the daily celebrated 110 years. The paper’s staff met this week to celebrate the event.

• Wednesday, June 2nd 2010 - 22:29 UTC

  Brazil leads Latam in military spending; Colombia as percentage of GDP

  

  Brazil leads Latinamerica in military spending having totalled 27.1 billion US dollars in 2009, followed by Colombia facing an armed guerrilla movement allied with drug cartels and Chile, rich in copper resources, according to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI.