Politics

• Friday, February 26th 2010 - 01:19 UTC

  Peruvian private pension funds purchase Lan Chile shares

  

  Peruvian Finance Minister Mercedes Araoz welcomed the participation of Peruvian private pension funds, AFP, in Thursday auction of a 6.4% stake (21.83 million shares) of Chilean flagship airline.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 05:09 UTC

  Falklands’ dispute reaches the UN: Ban Ki-Moon’s praises peaceful attitude

  

  Argentina’s Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana as had been anticipated on Wednesday formally asked United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to interfere in the “unilateral decisions” Britain has made regarding the Falklands/Malvinas Islands issue and highlighted that “from now on” everyone has to wait until Ban acts within a “good-solicitor” framework.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 05:03 UTC

  Argentine court keeps freeze on Central Bank reserves

  

  An Argentine federal court kept a hold on the government’s plan to use 6.6 billion US dollars in Central Bank reserves to pay debt, sending the case to the Supreme Court for a final ruling, Argentina’s Court Information Center Web site said.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 04:56 UTC

  “Political intolerance” and “citizen insecurity” rampant in Venezuela says OAS

  

  Venezuela routinely violates the rights of its citizens, using the “punitive power of the state” to intimidate and punish people for their political opinions, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said Wednesday.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 01:27 UTC

  On its fiftieth anniversary Brasilia exposed to a major political dispute

  

  The acting governor of Brazil's federal district resigned this week in connection with a corruption scandal that has tarnished one of the main opposition parties and could affect the campaign of front-runner Jose Serra in this October's presidential race.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 01:25 UTC

  EU ready to reach trade agreements with Latinamerica by next May

  

  Spanish president Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and European Commission president Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said they were confident of a successful conclusion of trade and cooperation agreements the EU is currently in the process of negotiations with Latinamerica.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 01:21 UTC

  World trade drops 12% in 2009; re-launching Doha round “imperative”

  

  World Trade Organisation director-general Pascal Lamy said on Wednesday that international trade fell by 12% in 2009, a marked deterioration on previous estimates which put the drop closer to 10%.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 01:16 UTC

  Good prospects in 2010 for Latam commodities and energy exporters

  

  A report released this week in Mexico by the inter American Development Bank, (IDB) forecasts a good year for Latinamerican countries exports of commodities and energy but a slower recovery for Central America and the Caribbean more dependent on tourism and remittances.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 00:54 UTC

  Round up of Cuban dissidents following the death of political prisoner

  

  Cuban security agents detained dissidents across the country to prevent protests at the funeral of a leading dissident who died on a prison hunger strike and which has sparked international indignation. Cuban president Raul Castro said he regrets the death of Orlando Zapata and denies the rights activist had been tortured.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 07:13 UTC

  UN praises Latinamerican social policies to confront global crisis

  

  The United Nations development agency stressed the need for good social policies to help Latin America deal with the impact of the global economic crisis, which threatens to undo the progress achieved in the region in fighting poverty and other socio-economic ills.