Latin America

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 16:43 UTC

  Suriname recognizes a Palestinian state on 1967 borders

  

  The Republic of Suriname on Tuesday became the latest South American country to officially recognize a Palestinian state on 1967 borders, Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Minister Riad Al-Malki said.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 16:39 UTC

  ‘Lex Duvalier’ enables Switzerland to confiscate and repatriate illicit dictator assets

  

  Switzerland has moved to confiscate frozen assets linked to former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. The Swiss cabinet asked Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf to begin proceedings to seize around 6.2 million US dollars that has been frozen in Swiss bank accounts since 1986, with a view to returning the funds to the Haitian people.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 16:35 UTC

  Mexico produces first “artisan honey-ales” directed to the gay-lesbian market

  

  A Mexican brewery has launched the first beer targeted to the gay community with a slight honey flavour and with plans to market the product in Mexico, Colombia and Japan among other interested countries.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 14:30 UTC

  Castro tells bureaucrats to end waste, improvisation and listen to people’s concerns

  

  President Raul Castro called on the Cuban government to eliminate waste and provide more efficient and improved quality services while keeping “feet and ears on the ground” to closely listen to Cubans concerns regarding the economic reforms recently put into practice.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 06:49 UTC

  Latin America inter-region trade soared 24.6% in 2010

  

  Inter-region Latinamerican trade soared 24.6% to 133 billion US dollars during 2010 according to the latest report from ALADI (Latinamerican Integration Association) released Tuesday in Montevideo. This signals a significant recovery from the late 2008 financial crisis but still is short of that year’s record of 146 billion USD.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 06:30 UTC

  Coal mine project in Chilean Patagonia triggers Facebook debate

  

  Mina Invierno, a major coal mine project to be located in Chilean Patagonia, has sparked new controversy in the Magallanes Region. The coal mine will be located on Isla Riesco, Chile’s fourth biggest island, just 80 miles from the region’s capital of Punta Arenas.

• Wednesday, February 2nd 2011 - 00:13 UTC

  Chile’s telephone numbers revamped to promote competition

  

  New rules in Chile have shifted ownership of the telephone number from telephone companies to individuals for the first time ever. The legal change will enable customers to switch their service provider while retaining their number.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 14:46 UTC

  Chilean government aggressive campaign to re-launch tourism in Magallanes region

  

  The Chilean government is involved in an aggressive campaign to bolster tourism in the Magallanes region and absorb the impact of the recent protests in the extreme south of the country that paralyzed all activities in the area for several days.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 14:10 UTC

  Chilean president flies to Antarctica but “will avoid” contact with Punta Arenas

  

  Chilean president Sebastián Piñera is expected next Friday in Punta Arenas airport en route to Antarctica with his Ecuadorean counterpart Rafael Correa, but will avoid all contact with locals, reports La Prensa Austral.

• Tuesday, February 1st 2011 - 13:37 UTC

  World’s richest man says it is the right moment to invest in Latin America

  

  Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim announced plans to invest 8.3 billion US dollars this year in 19 countries where his companies have interests and underlined that given the international scenario, it is the right moment to invest in Latin America: “whoever doesn’t will be left behind”.