Latin America

• Tuesday, July 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombian leader defies Court with plans for referendum

  

  Colombian President Alvaro Uribe deepened his clash with the Judiciary branch by going ahead with plans for a referendum aimed at re-running the 2006 election in which he won a second term.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Magallanes Region stable at 2.6%

  Unemployment in Chile's extreme south region of Magallanes remained unchanged at 2.6% during the March-May 2008 measurement, according to the latest release from the local branch of the Chilean Statistics Institute.

• Saturday, June 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Member countries integrate 10 billion USD to the S. Bank

  

  The South American country founders of the South (Development) Bank decided to integrate ten billion US dollar in capital to the budding institution out of an authorized total of 20 billion.

• Saturday, June 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Spanish group planning to build several hotels in Chile

  

  Spanish hotel giant Sol Melía plans to open three hotels in Chile. The company is also bidding for the two hotels that will be a part of Santiago's future Constanera Center, an ongoing development and construction project featuring four skyscrapers, built in one of Santiago's business districts, Providencia.

• Saturday, June 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombia, Ecuador drop plans to restore diplomatic ties

  

  Relations between Colombia and Ecuador grew chillier Tuesday, as Colombia postponed restoring diplomatic ties at the level of trade-attache because of “aggressive” remarks by Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.

• Saturday, June 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula, Chavez initial 21 energy and trade agreements

  The presidents of Brazil and Venezuela, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Hugo Chávez, respectively, met June 27 in Caracas to address economic issues aimed at reinforcing bilateral cooperation.

• Friday, June 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina, Chile lead the region in illicit drugs consumption

  

  Argentina, Uruguay and Chile have the highest index of illicit drugs consumption in South America according to the latest release from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

• Thursday, June 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivian bitter political dispute on collision course

  Bolivian president Evo Morales accused opposition governors on Wednesday of conspiring against his government and insisted he would not yield to conservative pressures to impede him from his plans for the “re-foundation” of the country, one of the poorest of the continent.

• Wednesday, June 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile prepared to cut Armed Forces copper earnings share

  José Pablo Arellano, CEO of Chile's state-owned CODELCO copper company, this week questioned the utility of a Pinochet-era law that gives 10% of CODELCO sales to the Chilean military.

• Wednesday, June 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Ecuador Colombia relations back in the cold and trade threats

  Ecuador will not resume diplomatic ties with Colombia after the latter decided to postpone renewal of relations, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador announced this week in Quito.