Latin America

• Friday, October 1st 2010 - 05:38 UTC

  Ecuador president, hostage of mutinous police freed by elite Army forces

  

  Ecuador’s elite forces freed President Rafael Correa late Thursday in a raid on a hospital where police held him captive as part of wage dispute that regional leaders labeled an organized coup attempt.

• Friday, October 1st 2010 - 05:12 UTC

  Fossil of giant penguin, double the size of an Emperor, found in Peru

  

  The fossil of a giant penguin that lived 36 million years ago has been discovered in Peru. Scientists say the find shows that key features of the plumage were present quite early on in penguin evolution.

• Friday, October 1st 2010 - 05:02 UTC

  Argentina grants political asylum to former Chilean guerrilla

  

  Argentina granted political asylum Thursday to a former Chilean guerrilla fighter charged in his country with assassinating a senator and kidnapping a businessman, whose extradition was repeatedly requested by the government of Sebastian Piñera. The decision has the potential to sour bilateral relations.

• Friday, October 1st 2010 - 04:56 UTC

  Piñera promises actions to weaken the Chilean peso in next year’s budget

  

  Chilean president Sebastian Piñera on Thursday reiterated that next year's budget would aim to ease a rapidly appreciating currency that is hurting the country’s exporters.

• Thursday, September 30th 2010 - 23:41 UTC

  Families of trapped Chilean miners file 29 million USD suit in damages

  

  Families of 29 of the 33 workers trapped in a collapsed Chilean mine Thursday filed suit against their employer, seeking 29 million dollars in damages, an adviser to the families said.

• Thursday, September 30th 2010 - 19:55 UTC

  Ecuadorean president mobbed and surrounded by protesting rank and file police

  

  Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said he is the target of a coup attempt after police and soldiers protesting wage cuts assaulted him Thursday during a demonstration in the capital Quito. The mutinous forces also cut air traffic at the capital’s main airport.

• Thursday, September 30th 2010 - 04:46 UTC

  Peru, Chile, Colombia integrate stock-exchange operations

  

  Integrated Peruvian, Chilean and Colombian stock-exchange operations are set to begin November 22 announced the president of Peru's stock exchange Roberto Hoyle who said that the integration would attract investors and increase competitiveness .“The integration will be an important step to increasing attractiveness and competitiveness, as well as greater capital flows,” said Hoyle.

• Thursday, September 30th 2010 - 02:49 UTC

  Chilean exporters want government support to face weakening US dollar

  

  Chilean exporters associations of farmers and manufacturers announced they will be requesting government intervention in the foreign exchange market because the “cheap” dollar is threatening their competitiveness edge and profits.

• Thursday, September 30th 2010 - 00:54 UTC

  Chavez two seats short to be granted special decree powers avoiding parliament

  

  President Hugo Chávez's Venezuela’s United Socialist party just beat a newly united opposition bloc for the popular vote at Sunday’s legislative election that split the country down the middle, final official results showed.

• Wednesday, September 29th 2010 - 19:36 UTC

  At least 30 Latam journalists killed doing their job in nine months

  

  At least 90 journalists (30 in Latinamerica) have been killed doing their job so far this year, a 25% increase on the same period of 2009, the media watchdog Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said this week. PEC has also called on the UN Humans Rights Council to urgently take up the matter.