Politics

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 10:05 UTC

  Costa Rica elects Chinchilla first woman president

  

  Laura Chinchilla, a protege of Nobel peace laureate President Oscar Arias, won a landslide election victory in Costa Rica on Sunday to become the country's first woman elected president.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 05:08 UTC

  Russia displaces the US as main supplier of arms to Latinamerica

  

  The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a British research institute focusing on international security, revealed that Russia in 2009 became the main exporter of weapons to Latin America thanks to the purchases made by Venezuela, but also to Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Colombia.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 05:05 UTC

  Argentina’s strong man undergoes successful emergency surgery

  

  Former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, husband of the current President Cristina Kirchner, underwent successful emergency surgery on Sunday, the government news agency reported.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 04:59 UTC

  A billion US dollars to purchase Piñera’s Lan airlines shares

  

  Costa Verde Aeronautica SA, the holding company owned by Chile’s Cueto family, plans to raise 1 billion US dollars in a move analysts say will finance the purchase of Lan Airlines SA shares from President-elect Sebastian Piñera.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 04:47 UTC

  Gibraltar celebrates 25th anniversary of frontier opening with Spain

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana declared that the Tripartite Forum (Gib., UK, Spain) must be consolidated as the vehicle for cross-border dialogue so that its existence is not dependent on a change of Government in either Spain or Gibraltar.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:14 UTC

  Argentina announces completion of third nuclear plant by end of the year

  

  Argentina will complete work on its third nuclear power plant by the end of the year, Planning Minister Julio De Vido said at a press conference. Last April, De Vido said work on the plant, called Atucha II, wouldn't be finished until the first or second quarter of 2011.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:11 UTC

  Australia to supply 60 billion USD of coal to China in 20-year period

  

  Australian company Resourcehouse Ltd. announced Saturday that it had struck a 60 billion US dollars, 20-year agreement to supply coal to China Power International Development Ltd., calling it Australia's biggest export contract.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:07 UTC

  Mujica calls on followers to build a better society and not collect bills from the past

  

  Uruguay’s president elect Jose Pepe Mujica called on militants and followers “to meditate, to think” about the motives for “the cause, colours and commitments” of the catch-all coalition which under his leadership will be repeating another five years of government.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:04 UTC

  Brazil’s middle class is half the population, but destitute remain at 40%

  

  The Brazilian middle class has grown sustainedly since 2003, when President Lula da Silva first took office and now represents almost half of the country’s population according to a report from the Getulio Vargas foundation released over the weekend.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 01:52 UTC

  Lula da Silva’s party fearful of “Brazilian sub-imperialism” and arrogance

  

  Brazil “sub-imperialism”, the arrogance of Brazilian businessmen and a more left wing approach for a future government of the ruling Workers Party, PT, are some of the points of the document to be considered next week at the party’s convention that must nominate the candidate for October’s presidential campaign and supposedly the heir of Lula da Silva.