CHILE: Aftershocks Rock Inaugural Ceremony
By Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO - While Chile's new rightwing President Sebastián Piñera, who announced that he would lead "a government of reconstruction," was being sworn in Thursday, the earthquake-ravaged country was shaken by major aftershocks.
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ECUADOR: Native Leaders Call for Anti-Government Protests
By Gonzalo Ortiz
QUITO - "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." The words of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill after the 1942 defeat of Germany's forces in Africa are an apt description of the situation between the government of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).
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EDUCATION-URUGUAY: Gardens of Knowledge
By Silvana Silveira
MONTEVIDEO - "Nature is wise, and if we take the time to observe it, we can learn so much" is the underlying philosophy of a number of innovative programmes being carried out in Uruguayan schools that are using gardens as a teaching resource, explained Edith Moraes, director of the national Primary Education Board.
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LATIN AMERICA: Abortion - Still Illegal, Still Killing, Despite Growing Awareness
By Estrella Gutiérrez
CARACAS - Although most of the governments in Latin America today are described as progressive, abortion is only legal in one country, while in five countries it is banned under all circumstances, even when the mother's life is at risk.
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ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities
By Gonzalo Ortiz
QUITO - Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.
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PERU: Suspension of Mining Operation Merely a Placebo
By Milagros Salazar
LIMA - Although the Peruvian government reported that it had suspended the exploration activities of the Afrodita mining company in the country's northern Amazon jungle region to avoid further protests by local indigenous people, officials took no actual steps to bring the firm's work to a halt.
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RIGHTS-CUBA: Hunger Striker Refuses to Go into Exile
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA - The state news media in Cuba reported Monday on the case of dissident Guillermo Fariñas, who has been on a hunger strike for 13 days and refuses to go into exile in Spain.
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BRAZIL: Ambitious Development Plan to Cut Inequality
By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil will be "radically less unequal" and less vulnerable to shocks from the outside when it celebrates 200 years of independence from Portugal, if the Strategic Affairs Secretariat's (SAE) plans for the next 12 years are put into practice, according to a high-ranking official.
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ENVIRONMENT-MEXICO: Green Areas to the Highest Bidder
By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY - Activists in Mexico complain that the deforestation threatening the environmental health of Mexico has been accentuated by the granting of public areas to private companies.
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COSTA RICA: Headhunting First-World Seniors
By Daniel Zueras
SAN JOSÉ - The Costa Rican government has declared retirement communities, aimed at attracting U.S. pensioners, to be "of national interest." Plans to create "retirement clusters" providing complete health services for older adults are seen as a profitable prospect for this Central American country.
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