
With inflation in May reaching 6.1%, the highest monthly rate in 17 years, mostly because of the shortage of basic foods, some states in Venezuela are already planning food rationing fearing the situation could worsen. The Venezuela's Central Bank released the figure on Friday.

Member States from of the Organization of American States (OAS), meeting in Antigua, Guatemala at the 43rd General Assembly, declared on Friday “that it is essential that the Hemisphere continue to advance in a coordinated manner in the search for effective solutions to the world drug problem with a comprehensive integrated, strengthened, balanced and multidisciplinary approach with full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

President Sebastián Piñera expressed great concern over the “demographic seism” facing Chile because of the low birth rate and ageing population, during an event at Government House where he announced some of the initiatives taken by his government.

Chilean President Sebastian Piñera blasted the environmental review process that led to a permit for Barrick Gold’s, now-suspended 8.5 billion dollar Pascua-Lama gold mine project.

Consumer prices edged up 0.3% in Brazil last month, fuelled by higher medicine, clothing and housing prices, with 12-month inflation at 6.5%, the state statistics agency said on Friday. The May increase, in line with market analysts' forecasts, was lower than the 0.5% recorded in April and the lowest since June 2012.

Amnesty International said that British authorities in their meetings with visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos should not allow a ‘focus on commercial diplomacy to come at the cost of raising human rights. President Santos is basically on a business and trade visit to the UK, but is also expected to address issues of ‘security and intelligence”.

President Juan Manuel Santos revealed on Friday in London that Colombia has been cooperating with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, “since a long time”. Last June first the Colombian Executive announced that the Ministry of Defence was going to sign an agreement with NATO “to begin the process of becoming closer to NATO”.

Paraguay will host the next Organization of American States, OAS, General Assembly scheduled for June 3 to 5 of 2014 in Asuncion. The decision by acclamation was taken on Thursday at the end of this year’s event in Guatemala.

Leaving behind an atmosphere of mistrust, China and Mexico agreed this week to upgrade bilateral ties to comprehensive strategic partnership, and thus opening broad prospects for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

European authorities are to propose bringing control of the inter-bank lending rate, Libor, under the supervision of a Paris-based regulator. The draft regulation proposes moving oversight of the scandal-hit benchmark from London to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).