Latin America

• Wednesday, June 3rd 2009 - 08:40 UTC

  April unemployment in the EU soars to 21 million, says Eurostat

  

  The number of people without jobs is rising across the European Union and has reached 21 million. The EU statistics office, Eurostat, said Tuesday the unemployment rate for the 16 Euro countries soared to 9.2% in April, the highest in a decade.

• Wednesday, June 3rd 2009 - 08:36 UTC

  Chile confirms first A/H1N1 flu death: 37 year man from Puerto Montt

  

  Chile, with a total of over 300 confirmed infections, became the first country in South America to confirm a death of the new influenza virus A/H1N1, the Chilean government said Tuesday.

• Tuesday, June 2nd 2009 - 12:48 UTC

  Paraguayan president, tenth Latam leader to visit Cuba this year

  

  Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo is scheduled to arrive in Havana on Tuesday for a two-day visit to Cuba, making him the tenth Latinamerican leader, so far this year, to meet with Cuban president Raul Castro and possibly his ailing brother Fidel.

• Tuesday, June 2nd 2009 - 10:51 UTC

  OAS Cuba’s sanctions could be lifted Tuesday in Honduras

  

  The Organization of American States, OAS, secretary general Jose Miguel Insulza said he was optimistic that an agreement to lift the suspension on Cuba can be reached at the 39th general assembly which officially begins Tuesday in Honduras.

• Tuesday, June 2nd 2009 - 10:35 UTC

  Next July Chile begins to cut its Argentine natural gas dependency

  

  After years of import disruptions and domestic gas shortages, Chile’s energy industry is now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment to the country’s new LNG terminal, located in the city of Quintero (Region V).

• Tuesday, June 2nd 2009 - 10:24 UTC

  New Salvador president praises Obama and re-establishes relations with Cuba

  

  A left-wing former television journalist, Mauricio Funes, was sworn-in Monday as president of El Salvador. President Funes heads the FMLN, the former Marxist rebels who fought a 12-year civil war against US-backed governments until 1992.

• Tuesday, June 2nd 2009 - 04:21 UTC

  Chile breakthrough in (Asian nori) algae cultivation

  

  Scientists of Chile’s Universidad Católica (UC) have discovered several varieties of the algae Porphyra in Chile. The Department of Ecology at UC has been studying the details of the reproductive cycle of the algae in order to replicate it in the lab

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 13:22 UTC

  Ecuador’s Correa forecasts the end of OAS and promotes the Group of Rio

  

  Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa said the Organization of American States, OAS, has “no longer a reason to exist” and forecasted it will be replaced by the Group of Rio, arguing it was time that Latinamerican issues ceased to be discussed in Washington.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 09:02 UTC

  OAS calls for a political solution to Colombian internal conflict

  

  The Organization of American States Secretary General said the Colombian internal conflict should move towards a negotiated political solution, and offered to contribute to the peace efforts.

• Monday, June 1st 2009 - 08:39 UTC

  New El Salvador government expected to restore relations with Cuba

  

  El Salvador President-elect Mauricio Funes plans to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba after taking office on Monday, a lawmaker allied tipped to become the Foreign Affairs minister of the new administration.