Latin America

• Wednesday, January 30th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Oil corporations will overhaul contracts with Ecuador

  The five foreign hydrocarbons corporations operating in Ecuador said they are willing to overhaul their contracts with the government. President Rafael Correa who is seeking to increase control over the country's key sector said he wants oil firms to strike an agreement in 45 days.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Record visitors to Torres del Paine park in south Chile

  

  Visitors to Chile's world famous Torres del Paine national park in Patagonia reached a new record in 2007 and in the current summer season an average of over a thousand tourists cross the park's checkpoints daily.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Santiago is up, first time since 2005

  

  Unemployment in Chile's capital Santiago reached 8.9% in December 2007, according to a report compiled by the Department of Economy at the University of Chile.

• Monday, January 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  A group of 16 Brits touring Magallanes on bicycles

  

  This week sixteen British adventurers who have chosen bicycles for sport and pleasure will be arriving in the extreme south of Chile for a sixteen days tour of the Magallanes region including Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine national park, reports Punta Arenas La Prensa Austral.

• Monday, January 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  First time ever Chile Senate deputy chair goes for Magallanes

  

  Political turmoil in the Chilean ruling coalition which has left President Michelle Bachelet without a majority in the Senate has meant that for the first time Magallanes region, in the extreme south of the country, will have a deputy speaker in the upper house beginning March 2009.

• Monday, January 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Montevideo, Santiago and Buenos Aires best cities in Latam

  

  Vancouver is the world's best place to live, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found. In Latinamerica although no city manages “ideal living conditions”, Montevideo in Uruguay, Santiago in Chile and Buenos Aires in Argentina offer the region's best conditions.

• Monday, January 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile behind Norway as world's leading salmon producers

  

  According to recently released industry data, Chile maintained its status as the world's second largest famed salmon-producer in 2007, although salmon production decreased by about three percent from 2006.

• Monday, January 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Regional committees downgrade Latam growth prospects

  

  The United Nations Economic Committee for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal and the Andean Promotion Corporation, CAF downgraded their prospects for the region's growth this year fearing the impact of a recession in United States.

• Sunday, January 27th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Peru became in 2007 Chile's main foreign investment attraction

  Chile's foreign direct investment in 2007 reached its highest level in the past 10 years, according to the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CCS). Of 4.689 billion US dollars in Chilean capital invested outside Chile, 26%, or 1.236 billion dollars, ended up in Peru.

• Thursday, January 24th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Uribe with 80% popularity fights for US Congress support

  Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has an 80% support, the highest since taking office back in 2002, according to the latest public opinion polls released this week. The previous poll in November showed Uribe with a 74% support and 14% negative response.