Latin America

• Friday, August 31st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Magallanes Region has the lowest unemployment in Chile, 2.4%

  Magallanes and Porvenir in Tierra del Fuego respectively were the Chilean region and city with the lowest unemployment rate in the May-July quarter, according to the latest release from the national Statistics Institute (INE).

• Friday, August 31st 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Wheat prices at all times record soar to 8 dollars per bushel

  

  Wheat prices on Friday surged more than 6% to a fresh all-time high driven by thin global supplies and heavy export demand. The sharp price increase, which came on top of the 5% jump on Thursday, reinforced fears of a spike in food inflation as industry begins to pass the costs on to consumers.

• Thursday, August 30th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Bachelet to lobby for UN human rights council seat

  

  President Michelle Bachelet travels to Japan and Australia this Friday in an 11-day tour of Asian nations that includes a summit meeting of the APEC regional trade group in Australia.

• Tuesday, August 28th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile's most plentiful river in Patagonia reaches record low

  

  Chilean Patagonia Region XI Baker River, often dubbed the most plentiful river in Chile, is experiencing a decrease in water flow due to this year's unusually sparse rainfall. Government officials insist the conditions are temporary, but records indicate that the river's water levels have been steadily decreasing in the last several years.

• Tuesday, August 28th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Antarctic ozone hole opens early this year but may not be as large

  

  The hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has emerged earlier than usual this year, but it is not yet clear whether the eventual annual depletion of the naturally occurring gas that filters out cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) radiation will be as bad as recent years, the United Nations meteorological agency announced Tuesday.

• Monday, August 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  New Lan Chile airline Union form

  

  Union leaders from LAN – Chile's largest airline – will meet on August 29 to form a comprehensive new union organization that they hope will avoid the problems currently plaguing labor organizers around the nation.

• Monday, August 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Pisco quake thank you turns sour

  

  A Peruvian initiative to thank countries and international agencies for aid it received in last week's devastating earthquake has turned sour.

• Monday, August 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuelan Funding to Latin America

  

  Laid-off Brazilian factory workers have their jobs back. Nicaraguan farmers are getting low-interest loans. Bolivian mayors can afford new health clinics.

• Monday, August 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Dominican Republic joins East Asia-Latam Cooperation forum

  The 33 countries from the Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), which was held in Brasilia ratified multilateralism and a more fair international economic order and welcomed the Dominican Republic as a new member of this international organization.

• Monday, August 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile hikes electricity rates 20%, highest since 2000

  Energy experts and government officials expect household electricity bills will rise twenty percent between now and November. If this estimate turns out to be true, it will represent the most dramatic increase in electricity bills since 2000.