Latin America

• Monday, March 3rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  S. American leaders want to mediate in Colombia conflict

  The killing of a Colombian guerrilla leader by Colombian forces in Ecuadorian territory and the alleged discovery of documents linking the rebel group with the governments of Ecuador and Venezuela has pushed South America closer to an armed conflict.

• Monday, March 3rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Unexpected agenda for Rio Group summit in Santo Domingo

  

  The Rio Group of Latinamerican countries created in the eighties to help pacify and stabilize Central America and which had lately fallen into obscurity, could play a crucial role in the Colombia-Ecuador-Venezuela conflict when it meets this week in Santo Domingo.

• Monday, March 3rd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Venezuelan team of scientists and officers arrive in Antarctica

  

  Venezuelan scientists and military officers traveling on a Uruguayan naval research ship reached the Antarctic peninsula over the weekend following a 15-day, 3.700 kilometers voyage. This is the first time a Venezuelan team officially takes part in Antarctic navigation and research.

• Sunday, March 2nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Colombia's FARC number 2 killed in Ecuador border clash

  The number 2 commander of Colombian guerrillas Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has been killed in combat Saturday, the government said, describing the action “as the biggest blow so far” to FARC.

• Sunday, March 2nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez warns Colombia about war following FARC raid

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has warned Colombia that a strike against the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, (FARC), rebel group inside Venezuela like that in Ecuador on Saturday could start a war.

• Sunday, March 2nd 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Opposition compares Bolivian situation with Yugoslavia

  Opposition leaders in Bolivia warned of a “fractured country” and accused President Evo Morales of leading Bolivia in the footsteps of Yugoslavia while calling for “civil resistance” in those provinces that openly reject the constitutional reforms to be voted next May.

• Saturday, March 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Magallanes Region has the lowest unemployment

  Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile has the lowest unemployment in the country, 1.8%, according to the latest release from the country's Statistics Office, INE.

• Saturday, March 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean president scheduled to visit Great Britain in April

  

  The busy international agenda for Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and her Foreign Affaire minister Alejandro Foxley includes hosting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Italian president Giorgio Napolitano in March and visiting Great Britain in April.

• Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile preparing for energy rationing: voltage reduced 10%

  

  The specter of energy shortages in Chile reared its head again this week, as the Ministry of Economy released a short-term plan to confront the country's increasingly perilous energy scenario, particularly the prospect of electricity rationing, which the government last instituted in 1998. The order contains 30 points that intend to help Chile's electricity providers to operate responsibly in the coming year.

• Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Raul Castro's Cuba signs binding human rights covenants

  Cuba signed on Thursday two legally binding human rights agreements at the United Nations in New York just days after Raul Castro was sworn in as the new president. The covenants - part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - commit Cuba to freedom of expression and association, and the right to travel, which Fidel Castro long opposed.