Latin America

• Friday, March 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Andean Indians coca leaves chewing habit in UN controversy

  Bolivia and Peru have defended the continued, traditional use of coca leaves which have been chewed by indigenous populations for centuries, after they were criticized by a UN drugs agency report.

• Thursday, March 6th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombian assessing impact of trade loss with neighbors

  Colombia is assessing the economic impact of the current diplomatic conflict with Ecuador and Venezuela which represented 9 billion US dollars in trade last year and a significant boost for the country's economic expansion.

• Thursday, March 6th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Conflict with the US is “inevitable” warns President Chavez

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday that a conflict with the government of United Sates is “inevitable” since it has consistently supported economically “the oligarch states of Latinamerica” that are not interested in the equality of peoples.

• Wednesday, March 5th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  FARC and France exchange veiled warning messages

  

  The killing of Raul Reyes, spokesperson and second in command of the Colombian FARC guerrillas, during an incursion by Colombian troops in Ecuador, is a “serious blow to the possibilities of a humanitarian exchange and to a political solution to the conflict” said the rebel group in a message released on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, March 5th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  OAS: no agreement on Ecuador Colombia conflict

  

  Country members from the Organization of American States, OAS, were unable to reach a statement on the Ecuador/Colombia incident forcing the Permanent Council to suspend the emergency session until mid day Wednesday.

• Wednesday, March 5th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  OAS resolution eases tension between Colombia and Ecuador

  

  The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday approved a resolution stating Colombia violated Ecuador's sovereignty with a cross-border raid to kill a leftist rebel over the weekend.

• Tuesday, March 4th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  First Week of the Blue Whale on Chiloé Island

  Starting this week Chile's Center for Cetacean Conservation is sponsoring the first celebration of the Week of the Blue Whale in Ancud, on island of Chiloé. The event is part of an international program in which over 400 coastal communities around the world mark the seasonal visits of various whale species.

• Tuesday, March 4th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombia to bring genocide charges against Chavez

  

  Colombian President Alvaro Uribe announced Tuesday he will ask the International Criminal Court in Rome to bring genocide charges against President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. He accused Mr Chavez of sponsoring and financing Colombian FARC rebels. Venezuela denies the charge.

• Tuesday, March 4th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean salmon crisis forces sacking of Fisheries head

  

  Ongoing problems affecting Chile's once booming salmon industry have prompted a shake up in the National Fishing Service (SERNAPESCA), the Chilean government body responsible for overseeing all fishing activity in the country.

• Monday, March 3rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez sends troops and tanks to Colombian border

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered on Sunday the militarization of the border with Colombia and the closing of Venezuela's embassy in Bogotá a day after Colombian troops in an incursion in Ecuadorian territory killed FARC rebel group number 2, an action he described as a “cowardly murder”.