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South America

Argentines shocked by verdicts in sex slave trial
The acquittal of 13 people accused in the disappearance of a young woman who was allegedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution for "VIP clients" ...
Sean Penn in direct appeal to Bolivia's leader
Sean Penn has made a direct public appeal to Bolivia's president to order the immediate release of a New York businessman who has been jailed for 18 ...
Venezuela VP: Hugo Chavez recovering after surgery
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was recovering in Cuba on Tuesday after an operation targeting an aggressive cancer that has defied multiple ...
Uruguay's lower house approves gay marriage law
Lawmakers in taboo-breaking Uruguay voted to legalize gay marriage late Tuesday night, approving a single law governing marriage for heterosexuals and ...
Extortion of American stings Bolivian officials
It is an unlikely tale: Orthodox Jew from New York City comes to Bolivia to rescue a rice-growing venture, gets thrown in jail on suspicion of money ...
Hugo Chavez's heir tears up over cancer battle
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's cancer relapse and his sudden announcement that he will undergo a fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba have thrown ...
Argentine mom rescues hundreds of sex slaves
Susana Trimarco was a housewife who fussed over her family and paid scant attention to the news until her daughter left for a doctor's appointment and ...
ThyssenKrupp takes $4.66B hit in Americas unit
German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG says it is taking a €3.6 billion ($4.66 billion) hit on the value of its Steel Americas unit. The Essen-based ...
Chavez faces new cancer battle, surgery in Cuba
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was heading back to Cuba on Sunday for a third cancer surgery after naming his vice president as his choice to lead ...
Snapshot: Chavez's designated successor
The man President Hugo Chavez wants to succeed him is an intensely loyal 50-year-old former bus driver who has long served as the international face ...
Peru's capital highly vulnerable to major quake
The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn't get back up. Minutes later, a 50-foot ...
Venezuela's Chavez says cancer back, plans surgery
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Saturday night that his cancer has returned and that he will undergo another surgery in Cuba. Chavez, who ...
Booze, smokes on agenda for quirky gov't group
Deep in a secure laboratory just outside Washington sits the federal government's heaviest smoker. It is a half-ton hulk of a machine, all brushed ...
Chavez back in Venezuela after Cuba treatment
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived back home early Friday after 10 days of medical treatment in Cuba, but his failure to attend a regional ...
Brazil remembers famed architect with vigil, samba
The city where architect Oscar Niemeyer was born 104 years ago said goodbye Friday with a public vigil, flowers and, yes, samba. After a viewing in ...
Chilean court fines motel for discrimination
A court in Chile has slapped a fine on a motel that banned entry to a gay couple in the first ruling associated with a new-antidiscrimination law.
Rituals, dances and carnivals win UN protection
The frenetic music and vibrant colors of the Frevo, a Brazilian carnival dance, have been immortalized by UNESCO as a world heritage treasure.
Ex-premier of Turks and Caicos arrested in Brazil
The former jet-setting premier of the Turks and Caicos islands has been arrested in Brazil after having disappeared a couple years ago.
Transgenders break into Brazil's modeling sector
Walking the catwalk in a Brazilian bikini is a nerve-racking experience for even the most seasoned of models, but for Felipa Tavares it's nothing ...
Brazil mourns architect Niemeyer's death
Hundreds of mourners lined up in the vast open plaza at the heart of Brasilia, Brazil's modernist capital, to honor internationally renowned architect ...
Federer hopes to play 2016 Games in Rio
Roger Federer says he won't play as often in the next few years and hopes to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The 31-year-old Federer ...
Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, dies at 104
Architect Oscar Niemeyer, who recreated Brazil's sensuous curves in reinforced concrete and built the capital of Brasilia on the empty central plains ...
Argentina: Cablevision partner wants Clarin sale
Argentina's government has found an ally in its campaign to force its leading media opponent, Grupo Clarin, to comply with the nation's law against ...
Argentina complains to WTO over US, EU barriers
Argentina filed complaints with the World Trade Organization Wednesday over trade barriers it blames for keeping its beef and lemons out of the United ...
Paraguayan farmers question probe into killings
Lucia Aguero stood with the other farmers in the standoff. About 300 of them had occupied the rich politician's land that they insisted wasn't legally ...