South America – News Stories About South America - Page 3

Dozens of
Sacrificed Girls
Found at Inca Site

Jun 5, 2009 2:56 AM CDT

Dozens of Sacrificed Girls Found at Inca Site

(Newser) - Dozens of carefully buried human sacrifices have been found in a coastal Inca site in Peru, reports the Telegraph. Most of the dead are teenage girls, and one appears to have been pregnant. The bodies, which still contain skin and hair, all bear signs of knife slashes along the neck....

Brazil Finds Drunk-Driving Law Tough to Swallow

Dec 23, 2008 3:20 PM CST

Brazil Finds Drunk-Driving Law Tough to Swallow

Home of carnival balks at cultural shift; corruption, lack of funds also hinder effort

(Newser) - Brazilians have mixed feelings about recently adopted drunken-driving laws that threaten to undermine their carnival lifestyle. The 0.02% alcohol limit—much stricter than America’s 0.08%—aims to curb the 35,000 deaths that occur on Brazil’s roads annually. But with just 900 breathalyzers for a nation...

Find Your Tipping Point Abroad

TRAVEL

Nov 20, 2008 2:26 PM CST

Find Your Tipping Point Abroad

With gratuity varying by country, it's important not to offend

(Newser) - Knowing the appropriate level of gratuity can be tricky, and it gets even more difficult abroad, where tipping practices widely vary. Forbes offers some help, noting, for instance, that for a cab ride in South America, rounding up the fare to the next dollar is an acceptable tip, while in...

Bet You've Never Heard of This Megachef

glossies

Nov 12, 2008 11:02 AM CST

Bet You've Never Heard of This Megachef

But that'll change when he conquers US with his Peruvian cuisine

(Newser) - Peruvian cuisine is the latest craze to hit south of the border, writes Andrew Curry in Portfolio, "thanks in part to superchef Gastón Acurio." With a hit TV show and more than a dozen eateries on two continents, this culinary rock star has cooked up a multi-million-dollar...

Cocaine's Nazi Ties Moved Mirren to Quit

Sep 1, 2008 12:09 PM CDT

Cocaine's Nazi Ties Moved Mirren to Quit

Actress 'loved' drug, but link to war criminal opened her eyes

(Newser) - Helen Mirren stopped using cocaine because of a Nazi war criminal. “I loved coke," says the Academy Award-winning actress. "I never did a lot, just a little bit at parties.” And she gave it up after learning that Klaus Barbie was living off cocaine proceeds while...

As World Economies
Falter, Brazil Sambas

Jul 31, 2008 6:33 AM CDT

As World Economies Falter, Brazil Sambas

New economic powerhouse withstanding tremors

(Newser) - Economies worldwide are stalling, with growth slowing to a trickle and markets seizing up. But in Brazil, long a laggard on the international stage, the economy is growing at the largest rate in three decades. Good government, progressive social programs, and newly discovered resources have allowed Brazil to finally take...

Volcanic Plume
Blankets S. America

May 7, 2008 8:04 PM CDT

Volcanic Plume Blankets S. America

Ash from Chile eruption closing in on Beunos Aires

(Newser) - A mammoth plume of ash and smoke from a newly erupted volcano in Chile is slowly working its way across South America and now poses a health risk to the 8 million residents of Beunos Aires, AFP reports. Thousands of residents of southern Chile were evacuated Tuesday, with ash coating...

Weak Dollar
Not Slowing
US Vacations

May 3, 2008 3:41 PM CDT

Weak Dollar Not Slowing US Vacations

About 25 million expected to travel abroad this summer

(Newser) - The dollar may be weak, but Americans’ desire to travel overseas this summer is strong, the Los Angeles Times reports. While domestic travel has appeared to hit the skids, more than 25 million Americans will grab their passports and take off for adventures abroad—up 2.6% from last year,...

Rice Snubs Argentina in
Trip South

Mar 13, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

Rice Snubs Argentina in Trip South

Relations grow icier as Kirchner drifts toward Chavez

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice has embarked on a visit to Brazil and Chile, but the secretary of State won’t be stopping in neighboring Argentina, a sign of ever-frostier relations. “The United States is clearly snubbing Argentina,” one expert tells the New York Times. New Argentine president Cristina Fernández...

Not So Noble After All

OPINION

Dec 8, 2007 4:23 PM CST

Not So Noble After All

Chavez tried to fix results, demanded margin of error be shrunk

(Newser) - Why was Hugo Chavez so princely in defeat last week, never demanding a recount after losing at the polls? Because he did try to fix the vote behind closed doors, and relented only when officials slimmed the margin of defeat to help him save face, writes Newsweek's Jorge Castaneda.

At 500, 1st 'America' Map Baffles

Dec 4, 2007 5:25 PM CST

At 500, 1st 'America' Map Baffles

German monk closely mapped South America, unknown Pacific

(Newser) - The Library of Congress this week unveils the first map to use the name "America"—and the 500-year-old mysteries that go with it. The 1507 map by a German monk includes a surprisingly precise rendering of South America, Reuters reports, and seemingly predicts the contours of the continent's...

Meteorite Hunter Gets His Due

Oct 27, 2007 1:17 PM CDT

Meteorite Hunter Gets His Due

He finds fame, maybe fortune, by digging through dust

(Newser) - He’s not exactly Indiana Jones, but Steve Arnold does have fame, wild adventures, and an 18-foot-wide metal detector. Arnold, a meteorite hunter, has combed the deserts of Chile, the tundras of Siberia, and the streets of Chicago looking for the extraterrestrial lumps of metal, the LA Times reports. His...

Chavez Proposal Clears Way
for Lifelong Presidency

Aug 16, 2007 3:06 AM CDT

Chavez Proposal Clears Way for Lifelong Presidency

Amendment would wipe out term limits

(Newser) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made a power grab toward a president-for-life position, packaging a proposal granting him unlimited terms with a measure to cap the workday at six hours. The constitutional amendment would extend terms from six to seven years and remove the two-term limit that would otherwise force...

Huge Earthquake
Rattles Peru

Aug 15, 2007 8:18 PM CDT

Huge Earthquake Rattles Peru

Tsunami warning after 7.9 hits off coast; at least 15 dead

(Newser) - A massive earthquake shook central Peru tonight, raising fears of a tsunami along the Pacific coast of Central and South America. The quake hit about 90 miles southeast of the capital of Lima, but witnesses felt it deep into the hinterlands. The country has been put on alert for deadly...

Chavez Lavishes Oil Wealth on Neighbors

Aug 9, 2007 8:53 AM CDT

Chavez Lavishes Oil Wealth on Neighbors

In bid to undercut IMF, Chavez becomes Latin America's banker

(Newser) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is spreading hundreds of millions of oil dollars around South America in an effort to limit the influence of the International Monetary Fund and forge a strong alliance. Chavez began a four-nation tour in Argentina referring to the IMF as "Dracula" and called for a...

Snubbing the West, Bolivia Waxes Red

Aug 3, 2007 10:18 AM CDT

Snubbing the West, Bolivia Waxes Red

Country turns to Chávez, socialism, in lieu of IMF cash

(Newser) - Bolivia’s populist president is traveling his country handing out aid—straight from his anti-American neighbor Hugo Chávez. The Washington Post reports that Evo Morales has been taking more than a cue from Chávez, using the Venezuelan leader's cash to fund social welfare programs and build clinics and...