
Chilean President Sebastian Piñera and Peru’s Alan Garcia agreed on Wednesday to downplay Lima’s suit against Santiago over maritime boundaries in favor of economic integration to combat poverty and underdevelopment. They instead outlined that bilateral relations are going through the best ever time, in term of relations.

Brazilian and Uruguayan Foreign Ministers Antonio Patriota and Luis Almagro have agreed to hold bilateral meetings every three months they announced during a press conference in Uruguay. The ministers met to discuss the forthcoming meeting between Uruguayan President Jose Mujica and his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff, scheduled for the first week of February.

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the number of unemployed in the UK has increased by 49,000 to 2.5 million, with a record number of young people out of work.

Argentine farmers threatened to go on strike for a second time this year if the government does not change their policy towards them. At a meeting in Buenos Aires province city, Bahia Blanca, farm workers leaders met to discuss the week-long strike, which began last Monday. Farmers have stopped the sale of wheat, corn and soybean over export curbs.

Latin America and the Caribbean experienced rapid employment recovery in 2010 to pre-crisis levels, but the challenge of improving the working conditions of millions of workers still remains, according to data provided by the ILO, which will hold its 17th American Regional Meeting in Chile next week with delegates from 35 countries of the continent.

Figures in Brazil show that 2.52 million new jobs were created last year, the Brazilian Labour Ministry reported.

Coca Brynco was launched in Bolivia earlier this week. It is the first mass produced soft drink of its kind and the project is supported by the government of President Evo Morales.

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier has been charged with embezzling public funds Tuesday, but a judge must still decide whether the indictment can proceed.

President Obama welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House on Wednesday and praised China’s success.

Sejong Soloists, the brilliant 14-piece conductor less string ensemble, often referred to as the sensational “dream team,” once again razzled and dazzled an internationally distinguished audience at their 11th Annual Gala in New York.