Colombia ministers ‘snub’ summit (BBC News)
Colombian ministers fail to attend a regional summit in an apparent snub to Venezuela as the countries’ dispute deepens.
BOLIVIA: Women Clamour for Right to Land
LA PAZ, Nov 27 (IPS) – Despite major advances in land distribution in Bolivia, single, widowed and undocumented women in this South American country have little chances of owning rural lands due to the patriarchal traditions and customary practices of indigenous peoples, in violation of international instruments and conventions protecting women’s rights.
ENVIRONMENT-GUATEMALA: SOS from Lake Atitlán
GUATEMALA CITY, Nov 24 (IPS) – A thick, chocolate-coloured scum floats on the normally clear blue waters of Lake Atitlán, in the southwestern Guatemalan province of Sololá, caused by agricultural fertilisers and untreated sewage from surrounding villages and farms.
Peru Signs Free Trade Deal With European Countries (New York Times)
Peru formally concluded a joint free trade agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.
BRAZIL: ‘Quilombos’ Keep Black Cultural Identity Alive
CAMPINHO DA INDEPENDENCIA, Brazil, Nov 25 (IPS) – A black community in the southern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro is trying to maintain its cultural heritage on 287 hectares granted to it by the government in 1999 as part of reparations to the descendants of slaves.
Colombia Peso Plunges to Weakest Level in Three Weeks on Dubai (Bloomberg)
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) — Colombia’s peso dropped to the weakest level in more than three weeks as Dubai’s proposal to delay debt payments pushed declines in commodities and drove investors away from higher-yielding, emerging-market assets.
Quake of 5.6 magnitude shakes Venezuela, no deaths (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude shook western Venezuela early on Friday, panicking residents and damaging some buildings, officials said.
Venezuela blasts Colombia as region talks defense (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Venezuela’s government on Friday blasted Colombia’s defense minister as a “crazy sniper” at a summit in Quito, where South American ministers agreed to sign a partial accord over security in the region.
PERU: Parties Thwart Public Demand for Women in Politics
LIMA, Nov 24 (IPS) – Women already make up 44 percent of the active members of the country’s parties, but Peruvians want to see more women in political posts. Party structures and a lack of funding for women candidates, however, conspire to hinder and even obliterate women’s participation in public decision-making bodies.
Estudiantes get Bolivian rivals in Libertadores Cup draw (Reuters via Yahoo! Sports)
Holders Estudiantes will open their defence of the Libertadores Cup against Bolivia’s Bolivar, a Peruvian team and a qualifier from playoffs following Friday’s draw of South America’s prime club competition.
Colombia ministers no-show at Unasur summit (AFP via Yahoo! News)
A regional Latin American summit aimed in part at calming tensions between Colombia and Venezuela opened here Friday, but Bogota opted to stay away, a move Caracas termed a “huge mistake.”
BRAZIL: Development Bank Funds Destructive Projects, Say Activists
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 26 (IPS) – Public money in Brazil is being used by the state development bank to finance deforestation projects and others that trample rights, concentrate wealth, and encourage “imperialist” expansion of large national companies, according to activists at a three-day meeting in this southeastern city.
ENVIRONMENT: Gov’t Silence Dooms Whales to Slaughter
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 24 (IPS) – Latin American governments are considering a bloc response to the Japanese whaling fleet’s departure for Antarctica, in a new season of what it claims is “hunting for scientific purposes” and which threatens to kill 1,000 whales in the protected Southern Ocean sanctuary.
