Latin America

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 15:28 UTC

  UK will reinforce and expand presence in Latin America, says Hague

  

  The UK will reinforce and expand its diplomatic presence in Latin America beefing up embassies and reopening others that have been closed in recent years, said Foreign Secretary William Hague.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 15:00 UTC

  Oil discovery off French Guiana, “mirror” of Jubilee field off Ghana, says Tullow

  

  Tullow Oil has announced an oil discovery from an exploration well off the coast of French Guiana. The drilling encountered 72 metres of net oil pay in two turbidite fans.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 10:05 UTC

  Venezuela blasts US for drug-listing four close aides of President Chavez

  

  Venezuela strongly rejected on Thursday US sanctions against four close political allies of President Hugo Chavez as a “new action that is part of the permanent aggression Venezuela” by the United States.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 10:01 UTC

  Colombian guerrilla kill 13-year old girl for twice abandoning the group

  

  A commander from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, in the southern province of Tolima ordered the execution of a 13-year-old girl who had been turned over to the guerrillas by her mother on two occasions, an army spokesman said.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 09:30 UTC

  Peruvian families to take compensation claim for Machu Picchu to Unesco

  

  Two Peruvian families who say the government never paid them compensation for the expropriation of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and surrounding lands plan to take their complaint to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 09:28 UTC

  Venezuela television interviews Fidel Castro, tells Miami “he’s alive and ticking”

  

  Fidel Castro has broken a long silence by granting an interview to a Venezuelan television station, his first since rumors began to spread that the former Cuban leader might be sick or near death. A top Cuban official said Thursday that Fidel is in good health.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 03:35 UTC

  Uruguayan marines in Haiti involved in ‘misconduct’; no evidence of sexual abuse

  

  Three independent investigations in Haiti following the claim of an alleged sexual abuse against a local by five Uruguayan marines from the UN peacekeeping force coincide in that there was “misconduct” of the involved, but no crime was committed.

• Friday, September 9th 2011 - 02:24 UTC

  Haiti UN peacekeeping force led by Brazil will begin gradual pullout

  

  Brazil's Defense minister said on Thursday that Haiti's peacekeeping force of 12,000 soldiers and police, known as MINUSTAH, will begin a gradual withdrawal aimed at turning security over to the Haitians, but not imperiling the stability achieved.

• Thursday, September 8th 2011 - 06:04 UTC

  International tourism picking up in first half with South America best performer

  

  International tourism grew by almost 5% in the first half of 2011 totalling a new record of 440 million arrivals according to the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations organization for the sector.

• Thursday, September 8th 2011 - 01:16 UTC

  Chile, Colombia, Peru equity markets integration on track is spite of crises

  

  The difficult international situation has not affected the equity markets integration process of Colombia, Chile and Peru, said the president of Colombia’s Stock Exchange, Juan Pablo Córdoba.