Latin America

• Monday, January 25th 2010 - 14:58 UTC

  Venezuela could hold world’s largest oil reserves, says US Geological Survey

  

  A new US assessment of Venezuela's oil reserves could give the country double the supplies of Saudi Arabia. Scientists working for the US Geological Survey say Venezuela's Orinoco belt region holds twice as much petroleum as previously thought.
  The geologists estimate the area could yield more than 500 billion barrels of crude oil.

• Monday, January 25th 2010 - 14:52 UTC

  Brazil and Argentina, first countries president elect Piñera will visit

  

  Brazil and Argentina are the first countries to be visited by Chilean president-elect Sebastián Piñera, who added he will accept invitations from Spain and France and anticipated one of his first actions would be to de-freeze relations with neighbouring Peru.

• Monday, January 25th 2010 - 14:49 UTC

  Chile and Argentina consolidate bilateral integration and cooperation

  

  Chile announced that the “Integration and Cooperation” agreement with Argentina, which was stamped by Presidents Cristina Kirchner and Michelle Bachelet last October 30, became effective as of Friday January 22nd.

• Monday, January 25th 2010 - 14:39 UTC

  Hope for Haiti Now telethon raises 58 million US dollars

  

  More than 58 million US dollars have been raised through the all-star Hope for Haiti Now telethon, according to organizers.

• Monday, January 25th 2010 - 14:38 UTC

  Chavez forces television stations off the air for not broadcasting his speeches

  Six television stations including opposition RCTV (Radio Caracas TeleVision) were forced off the air on Sunday for not broadcasting President Hugo Chavez' speeches. The new rules passed in December require stations to air Chavez's speeches, among other mandates.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:52 UTC

  Lula da Silva calls for unity and warns followers about the “Piñera factor”

  

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva called on his followers not to repeat what happened in Chile where the centre-left coalition lost the recent presidential election to the conservatives for having run with two candidates.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:21 UTC

  Cuba and US work together to preserve Hemingway’s heritage

  

  Cuban and US cultural institutions plan to keep working together to preserve the documents that belonged to Ernest Hemingway and are kept at Finca Vigia, the US writer’s home-turned-museum on the island, state media reported.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 14:58 UTC

  Morales promises a tighter state control economy for “post-colonial” Bolivia

  

  Bolivian President Evo Morales began his second consecutive term on Friday vowing to fight poverty, further tighten state control over the economy and develop some of the world's largest lithium reserves.

• Friday, January 22nd 2010 - 16:43 UTC

  Morales becomes head of a pluri-national state blessed by Aymara gods

  

  Bolivian president Evo Morales will be inaugurated Friday before Congress for a second mandate (2010/2015) after having achieved an overwhelming victory in December elections (64% of the vote) ensuring him majority control of both houses.

• Friday, January 22nd 2010 - 14:49 UTC

  Repsol forced to reassess its Bolivian hydrocarbons reserves

  

  Oil company Repsol YPF is studying the impact on its hydrocarbon reserves accounting as a consequence of a change in Bolivian law, but has not made a decision on whether to lower its reserves, a spokesman for Spanish firm confirmed this week in Madrid.