
The unemployment rate in Magallanes region, extreme south of Chile during the second quarter reached 4.9% which is more than double a year ago (2.2%). However it was down 1.4 percentage points from the previous quarter, making it Chile’s region with the lowest rate of jobless, according to the latest report from the country’s Statistics Office.

Headlines: Westerners’ message to councillors: our livelihood is under threat; We’re progressing BFBS TV options Rendell assures.

Chile, Panama and Salvador are the three Latinamerican countries with the highest number of imprisoned criminals per 100.000 of population, according to a report from the United Nations Latinamerican institute for crime prevention and treatment of delinquents, INALUD.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced this week a bill that will limit the amount of funds discretionally disbursed by the Executive under the so-called superpowers.

Iran's top representative in Bolivia said Tehran has approved a 280 million US dollars loan for the Bolivian government to develop its industry and energy sector. Iranian diplomat in La Paz a Masoud Edrisi told the Associated Press Wednesday that the terms of the low-interest loan have net yet been set.

The US dollar is likely to remain as the world’s reserve currency said on Wednesday International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn interviewed by France 24 television.

Brazil and Argentina reached “relatively productive” results following the Sao Paulo meeting of the bilateral trade monitoring committee to address the ongoing restrictions imposed by Argentina to Brazilian exports, according to diplomatic sources from both sides.

The IMF has announced a new framework for loans to the world’s poorest nations, including increased resources, a doubling of borrowing limits, zero interest rates until the end of 2011, and more flexible terms.

Argentina’s main trade unions confederation, CGT, and the chamber of small and medium enterprises, CAEM, energetically supported trade protection measures imposed by the government and which triggered complaints and irritation among Mercosur country members.

The Chilean government has requested neighbouring Bolivia to extend for a further two years (2012 to 2014) the timetable to clear of anti personnel mines planted in the seventies along border areas, reports La Razon, La Paz main daily.