Latin America

• Tuesday, December 6th 2011 - 18:21 UTC

  Repsol-YPF extracts almost 10% of Ecuador’s oil production

  

  Repsol-YPF has raised its output in Ecuador to 45.000 bpd thanks to two new wells in the Amazon region, although the Spanish oil major still is forecasting a steady decline in production in the coming years, company executives said.

• Tuesday, December 6th 2011 - 04:22 UTC

  Latam forecasted to expand 4.4% this year and 3.5% in 2012

  

  The Executive Secretary from the UN Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, ECLAC, Alicia Barcena said that the European crisis is beginning to be felt but nevertheless growth in the region will continue this year and in the coming twelve months at levels above 3.5%.

• Tuesday, December 6th 2011 - 04:19 UTC

  Vietnamese teaching Cubans how to grow rice efficiently

  

  Cuba plans to enlarge to 40,000 hectares a Vietnamese-aided test farm to expand production of rice, official media said on Monday.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 22:20 UTC

  Chilean carrier launches fourth affiliate Lan Colombia

  

  LAN Airlines, Chile’s flag carrier made the official launching of its fourth affiliate under the name of Lan Colombia, becoming the second largest airline in the country with 22 domestic destinations, including Cartagena, Cali and Medellín.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 20:19 UTC

  Humala sends troops to end protests against a 4.8bn dollars gold mine project

  

  Security forces fanned out across Peru's Cajamarca region on Monday to enforce emergency measures decreed by President Ollanta Humala to put an end to 11 days of protests against a 4.8 billion dollars gold mine project.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 06:54 UTC

  The 33-nation CELAC grants full support to Argentina in the Falklands’ dispute

  

  The members of the newly former CELAC (Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States) unanimously approved on Saturday a document in support of Argentina’s claim over the Falklands/Malvinas and anticipated they would request the intervention of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 06:51 UTC

  Top Republican claims Obama is losing the Brazil battle to China

  

  The US top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said President Barack Obama is missing opportunities to strike closer ties with Brazil, allowing China to steal market share from US companies in Latin America’s biggest economy.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 06:48 UTC

  Mujica calls CELAC “a second independence” but warns beware of dogmatism

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica described the newly formed CELAC as a strong step towards the Americas ‘second independence’ and its integration process.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 06:36 UTC

  Baush & Lomb takes control of Waicon, Argentina’s top seller of contact lenses

  

  US corporation Bausch & Lomb Inc. has acquired all shares of Laboratorio Pfortner Cornealent SACIF in Argentina, the Rochester based company’s officials announced although details of the sale were not disclosed.

• Monday, December 5th 2011 - 06:09 UTC

  Mujica dressed with a Venezuelan Army jacket triggers a barrage of criticisms

  

  A major controversy exploded in Uruguay when President Jose Mujica was pictured by international news agencies, during the CELAC meeting in Caracas, wearing a green jacket from the Venezuelan Army.