Latin America

• Sunday, October 9th 2011 - 07:20 UTC

  Chilean controversial Patagonia mega-dam project to be appealed at Supreme Court

  

  A Chilean appeals court in Puerto Montt voted 3 to 1 to reject seven lawsuits brought against the proposed controversial HidroAysén hydroelectric mega-dam approved by the Chilean government on May 9 of this year.

• Saturday, October 8th 2011 - 09:29 UTC

  LAN surprises restaurant patrons with free roundtrip tickets to South America

  

  LAN Airlines, South America's premier airline, has just surprised patrons of New York restaurant Nuela with tickets to the region. Close to 200 unsuspecting diners were presented with vouchers that can be redeemed for one roundtrip ticket to such thrilling destinations as Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

• Saturday, October 8th 2011 - 08:29 UTC

  Santiago de Chile is experiencing highest levels or solar radiation since 2008

  

  Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has increased three points compared to last September in Santiago de Chile, according to a study released by Chile’s National Cancer Corporation (Conac) and the UV monitoring network of the Universidad de Santiago (USACH).

• Saturday, October 8th 2011 - 08:09 UTC

  Latin America has highest rates of intentional homicide, says UNDOC report

  

  The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, has released its first “Global Study on Homicide”, which shows that young men, particularly in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Central and Southern Africa, are at greatest risk of falling victim to intentional homicide.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 22:21 UTC

  Predominance of Chinese demand rattles Chile’s economic prospects

  

  Even when the price of copper, Chile’s number one export, only begun to recover Friday of continued consecutive falls, in September and the first week of October the red metal reached its lowest level in 14 months.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 18:08 UTC

  IMF tells Latam to be prepared for a “triple shock”, in the worst of scenarios

  

  Latin American policy makers must be prepared to use interest rate cuts and consider fiscal measures to protect their economies in the event that the global economy stalls, the International Monetary Fund said.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 05:52 UTC

  Violent clashes in Santiago as students-government negotiations break down

  

  Chilean students marched in downtown Santiago Thursday, clashing with police and blocking traffic for much of the day, after negotiations with the government over education reforms broke down.

• Thursday, October 6th 2011 - 21:59 UTC

  Boost for cruise industry: vessels can operate casinos in Chilean waters

  

  The Chilean Senate unanimously approved this week the bill allowing cruise vessels to operate their onboard casinos while sailing in Chilean waters.

• Thursday, October 6th 2011 - 21:14 UTC

  Mercosur countries rank poorly in Forbes’ “Best Countries for Business”

  

  Mercosur full members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) rank poorly in the Forbes magazine annual Best Countries for Business, with the best listed, Chile and Peru, in positions 24 and 42, out of 134 countries surveyed worldwide.

• Thursday, October 6th 2011 - 20:25 UTC

  Chile purchases UAV from Israel for border control of contraband and drugs

  

  Chile confirmed it had purchased Israeli manufactured Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) which will be used for border surveying to control contraband and drugs. However the UAV won’t be operational for at least another two years.