Latin America

• Monday, February 12th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Several cases of dengue fever on Easter Island

  

  Three new cases of Dengue Fever (DF) were reported last weekend on Easter Island, a Chilean outpost in the South Pacific. Two men and one woman, both native islanders, were found to be infected with the disease.

• Saturday, February 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela - Iran to begin direct flights

  

  Iran's national airline will begin direct flights to Venezuela next month in another sign of the two nations' increasingly close ties.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile: Fishing boats detained in Peruvian waters

  

  Two Chilean fishing boats were detained near the Los Palos beach in the Peruvian province of Tacna after they were caught fishing in Peruvian waters. The boats returned to Santiago on Thursday morning. The case, still under investigation, forms another chapter in the ongoing of the tug-of-war between Chile and Peru over their maritime borders.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Bush administration pushes for FTA with Colombia and Peru

  

  United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week requested from Congress the ratification of the Free Trade Agreements, FTA, which the White House has signed with Peru and Colombia.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela and US energy corporation reach understanding

  

  The Venezuelan government and United States AES Corporation signed Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the purchase of AES's 82.14% stake in La Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) for 739.3 million US dollars.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Growing mineral exports boost Peruvian economy

  Peru's Central Bank raised the country's economic growth forecast for 2007 from 5.7 to 6.8%, following a 7.9% expansion in 2006, which was the highest since 1995.

• Friday, February 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  UNESCO offers help to rebuild Valparaiso historical centre

  

  The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) offered Chile assistance in repairing damage caused by the fire that destroyed part of the historical centre of the port city of Valparaiso last week, killing several people.

• Thursday, February 8th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Caribbean islands tourism: a new form of the plantation system?

  

  The notion of a racial divide in the Caribbean tourism industry is a problem that dare not speak its name. It creates discomfort among many of the expatriate hotel owners and managers, and governments are fearful of dealing with it.

• Wednesday, February 7th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Weather anomalies strike the Andean region

  

  A heat wave is causing a string of forest fires in Colombia, in the Andes glaciers are melting, in Bolivia rainfall is double the average and in the whole Andean region climatic anomalies are forcing drastic measures to contain further damage.

• Wednesday, February 7th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  China, the locomotive for Latinamerican expansion

  

  Latinamerica could experience a trade boom in the next five to ten years if China sustains its current rates of growth said Andres Solimano from the UN Economic Commission for Latinamerica, CEPAL.