Latin America

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 12:16 UTC

  Falkland/Malvinas experience repeatedly recalled in Unasur summit

  

  South American leaders “frank and crude” debate last week on the controversial agreement to deploy US forces in seven Colombian bases brought back memories and experiences of the Falkland Islands war between Argentina and Britain in 1982.

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 12:14 UTC

  Listeriosis strikes Chile again, claims nine victims

  

  Listeriosis, a food-borne bacterial disease, has claimed nine lives and infected 45 in Chile so far in 2009, health authorities confirmed this week. The disease, which stems from the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, is often borne from contaminated water and foods and usually infects pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and people with auto-immune diseases.

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 08:00 UTC

  Third “expedition cruise” vessel for Australis from Punta Arenas

  

  The Chilean cruise company Cruceros Australis which operates from Punta Arenas is having a third vessel built in Valdivia which should be operational for the 2010/2011 season, according to Branco Ivelic, manager of Cruise Operations.

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:31 UTC

  Uribe avoided condemnation in Bariloche but could not escape H1N1 flu

  

  Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has the H1N1 virus, according to official sources. The Presidency's Information and Press Secretary of Colombia, César Mauricio Velásquez, read an official release Sunday saying that Uribe has the virus, while National Health Institute sources from Bogotá confirmed the diagnosis. Social Welfare Minister Diego Palacio said Uribe is responding well to treatment.

• Sunday, August 30th 2009 - 22:28 UTC

  China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean

  

  On November 5, 2008, the Chinese government released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, as it had previously done so for Europe in 2003 and for Africa in 2006.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 10:01 UTC

  Chile has the lowest inflation rate in Latinamerica

  

  International banking authorities reported this week that Chile has the lowest inflation of any Latin American country, with an accumulated rate of -1.2% through July.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:38 UTC

  HMS Gloucester begins Monday a two-week visit to Chile

  

  HMS Gloucester is expected next Monday in the port of Valparaiso where she will remain until September 14 as part of a program to reaffirm the close professional links with the Chilean Navy. It will also be an opportunity for the crew to rest and recover after spending months in South Atlantic patrolling.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 08:35 UTC

  Unasur summit finally agrees on a diluted catch-all statement

  

  The much announced Union of South American Nations Friday presidential summit in Argentina finally issued a statement warning “foreign military forces” against threatening the sovereignty and integrity of any South American country and “in consequence regional peace and stability”.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:59 UTC

  Brazilian general questions Lula da Silva’ stance on the Amazon

  

  The Brazilian government magnified the importance of the deployment of US troops in Colombian military bases, according to Brazilian retired Army general Luiz Eduardo Rocha Paiva who is also a lecturer in strategic affairs.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:38 UTC

  Colombia and Venezuela raise the stakes for the Unasur summit

  

  Colombia reiterated its willingness to an open discussion on the deployment of US forces in Colombian bases but also wants Venezuela to adopt a similar attitude regarding its arms, armament and alliance policies.