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South America

Brazil: bar codes on sidewalks give tourist info
Rio de Janeiro is mixing technology with tradition to provide tourists information about the city by embedding bar codes into the black and white ...
For Chavez impersonator, cancer no laughing matter
It's an hour before showtime, and Gustavo Rios is transforming himself into Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. A makeup artist paints his skin a dark ...
UN deputy chief urges action on water rights
Most of the world's urgent problems boil down to water and sanitation, and global leaders must act to reduce child mortality and urban poverty, the ...
Chile aims to focus summit on its brighter side
European, Latin American and Caribbean leaders gathering for this weekend's economic summit will likely see only one side of Chile — the polished, ...
Absent but omnipresent, Chavez a powerful symbol
While Venezuela's sick president recuperates from surgery behind closed doors in Cuba, at home he is more visible than ever. Iconic images of his eyes ...
Spanish daily halts edition with fake Chavez photo
The leading Spanish newspaper El Pais withdrew and reprinted its Thursday edition after discovering that its front-page exclusive photograph ...
Guyana pledges to protect jaguars
The lushly forested nation of Guyana on Thursday joined a regional pact to protect jaguars, the elusive spotted cat that is the biggest land predator ...
Colombian superstar Juanes writes 1st book
Juanes (WAH'-nehs) has more to say than will fit in a hit song. The Colombian singer announced Thursday that his first memoir will be released April ...
Republic Airways buys jets from Brazil's Embraer
Brazilian planemaker Embraer said Thursday it signed a contract with Republic Airways Holdings Inc. for the sale of 47 E-175 passenger jets for an ...
Venezuela VP: plot against Chavez allies revealed
Venezuela's vice president said Wednesday that the government has uncovered a plot to attack him or another senior leader of President Hugo Chavez's ...
Venezuelan government: Hugo Chavez recovering
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in good spirits and recovering six weeks after he underwent cancer surgery in Cuba, his government said Tuesday ...
Rio de Janeiro's favelas find a place on city maps
Look at most maps of Rio de Janeiro. The beaches are easy to spot, as are the iconic ocean-front neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema. In the ...
Telefonica: 'No involvement' with Cuba cable
Spanish telecom Telefonica denied Tuesday that it has anything to do with an undersea fiber-optic cable between Cuba and Venezuela, even as an analyst ...
Brazil police inspector removed from post
A Rio de Janiero police inspector has been removed for making disparaging remarks about female officers on his Twitter account. Inspector Pedro Paulo ...
Canadian, Peruvian gold prospectors kidnapped
Leftist rebels kidnapped five gold prospectors doing exploratory drilling for a Canadian company before dawn Friday in a northern province of ...
Brazil judge orders '50 Shades of Grey' removed
A Brazilian judge has ordered the erotic trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey" taken off the shelves of bookstores in the city of Macae, or at least wrapped ...
With Olympics in mind, Rio's love hotels clean up
One worker strips mirrored paneling off the ceiling, as another pries up the fiberglass shell of a whirlpool bath. A third man takes a sledgehammer ...
Venezuela military to play central power broker
In a country riven by political strife, Venezuela's military often has served as the arbiter of power. It has launched coups and frustrated them and ...
Government food price claims baffle Argentines
Six pesos a day. That's all it takes to eat in Argentina, at least according to the government. But on the streets of the capital, 6 pesos doesn't ...
Chavez reportedly at exclusive Cuba hospital
It's a blocky, blush-colored building surrounded by a lush canopy of trees near the rumored home of Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro.
Shakira hosts shower for underprivileged kids
What does the baby of the world's most famous Latin American singer need? Nothing, apparently. Expectant parents Shakira and soccer star Gerard Pique ...
Venezuela publishes decree with Chavez signature
Venezuela's government has published a decree signed by President Hugo Chavez, while his vice president said Wednesday that the ailing leader also ...
Brazilian website creates fake girlfriends
Want to make your ex-girlfriend jealous? Need to show your friends you are in a serious relationship when you aren't? A Brazilian website says it has ...
Romania wants 2 drug trafficker suspects arrested
Romanian prosecutors want to arrest two Bulgarians suspected of running one of Europe's largest cocaine trafficking rings from Colombia to Europe.
Venezuela VP stands in for Chavez before lawmakers
Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro took the place of ailing President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday by delivering a short speech and turning in a ...