
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.

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

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.

Chile’s flag air carrier Lan Airlines S.A. and its subsidiaries, one of the leading airlines in Latin America, announced Tuesday an agreement for the purchase of 50 modern Airbus A320 family aircraft to be delivered between 2012 and 2016.

Nearly five months after the Feb. 27 earthquake in Chile, the cities of Talca and Curicó, two of the hardest hit areas have begun the first steps to rebuild their historic centres, which together account for almost 364 blocks of severely damaged landscapes.

British Petroleum is to sell assets in Texas, Canada and Egypt, to part-fund the clean-up cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The oil giant said it had reached a 7 billion US dollars deal with US-based oil production firm Apache Corp.

The polar wave that has trapped the Southern Cone of South America has caused an estimated one hundred deaths and killed thousands of cattle, according to the latest reports on Monday from Argentina, south of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia.

The Latin American economy could grow by as much as 5% this year, more strongly than previously expected (4%), driven by Brazil's vigorous expansion, according to a senior International Monetary Fund official.

Billionaire Carlos Slim, in the short list of world’s richest and number one in Latinamerica is digging for gold in Mexico, taking advantage of bullion prices that touched a record last month while awaiting a broader economic rebound.

Spanish Foreign Affairs minister Míguel Angel Moratinos called for “understanding” from the released Cuban political prisoners which arrived in Spain and who are complaining about their ‘undefined’ legal status.