Latin America

• 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”.

• 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.