Latin America

• Saturday, January 15th 2011 - 17:33 UTC

  Strike easing in Magallanes, Chile

  

  THE announcement today by the organisers of the general strike in the Magallanes Region of Chile that there will be some “flexibility” in the road blocks currently in place outside the city of Punta Arenas will no doubt cause some easing of the pressure on the Chilean President to find a solution.

• Friday, January 14th 2011 - 03:40 UTC

  Punta Arenas: Two Dead, 32 Arrested In Early Hours of Massive Strike

  

  Roadblocks, fires, and looting attempts mark the social upheaval against announced cuts to natural gas subsidies

• Friday, January 14th 2011 - 02:27 UTC

  Chile's Defense Minister Resigns From Cabinet

  

  Chile's Defence Minister resigned, the government said, the first minister to leave the Cabinet since President Sebastian Piñera took power last year.

• Friday, January 7th 2011 - 21:10 UTC

  Chile recognized Palestine as an independent state

  

  Chile has recognized Palestine as an independent state, Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno said Friday, following in the footsteps of several other Latin American countries.

• Friday, January 7th 2011 - 19:36 UTC

  LAN launched a new flight between Easter Island and Lima

  

  The first flight of the new route from Lima to Easter Island’s Mataveri airport landed safely this week, making Easter Island a more accessible tourist destination.

• Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 23:14 UTC

  Cuba: Massive cruise liner docks in La Havanna to much fanfare

  

  A salsa band, dancing schoolchildren and showgirls in bikini tops and feather headdresses welcomed some 1,500 tourists on a British cruise liner that officials described as among the biggest ships to visit Cuba in years.

• Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 22:58 UTC

  Haiti: Sexual violence against women increasing

  

  Women and girls living in Haiti’s makeshift camps face an increasing risk of rape and sexual violence, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.

• Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 22:06 UTC

  Chile: an Opus Dei convent or a country on the Liberal path?

  

  Under the heading of: “Chile, the convent of the Americas? A country between the Opus Dei and Liberalism” the German journalist Maurice Weibel analyzes Chilean politics, where the followers of Escriva de Balaguer have a dominating presence in politics and over the agenda to update values in a country on the move to join the developed world.

• Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 21:13 UTC

  Punta Arenas on strike over a planned 20% gas price hike

  

  The southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas had its largest strike in decades Wednesday in response to a government proposal to increase the price of gas in the region by 20%.

• Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 21:08 UTC

  Second contraction year for Venezuela; 2% expansion forecasted in 2011

  

  Venezuela’s economy contracted 1.9% 2010, marking a second year of recession according to a release from the Central Bank. The economy shrank 3.3% in 2009, but President Hugo Chavez's government said the country is now pulling out of recession and on course for 2% growth in 2011.