International Business News - The Americas http://www.ibtimes.com/subsection/politicsnpolicy/americas.htm All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Acrid smoke from charcoal-making blankets this Amazon logging town with the smell of business as usual. Less than three months ago, federal agents swooped in to close sawmills, confiscate wood and smash charcoal furnaces in a government crackdown on illegal logging. 118033 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/48059-brazil-logging-crackdown.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/brazils-illegal-logging-hard-to-combat.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/brazils-illegal-logging-hard-to-combat.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 05:42:44 EDT European and Latin American leaders have pledged to fight poverty, global warming and high food prices, presenting a show of unity amid a festering conflict between two South American nations. 117999 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47991-peru-latam-eu-summit.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/latin-america-europe-summit-begins-under-feud.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/latin-america-europe-summit-begins-under-feud.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:45:05 EDT President Leonel Fernandez declared victory early Saturday in the Dominican Republic's national election and pledged to continue pushing forward economic projects that have helped pull the Caribbean nation's economy out of crisis. 117988 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/dominican-republic-president-declares-victory.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 03:41:21 EDT A Canadian tourist was shot and killed late Thursday inside his hotel room in the Mexican resort city of Cabo San Lucas, police said. State police commander Enrique Wuilar says a lone gunman shot Canadian Bouabal Bounthavorn in his hotel room. 117992 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080517/canadian-tourist-shot-dead-in-mexico.htm Sat, 17 May 2008 02:20:33 EDT European and Latin American leaders sought to unite against poverty, global warming and high food prices on Friday, but their summit was clouded by an ongoing feud between Colombia and Venezuela. 117734 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47771-peru-latam-eu-summit.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/latin-america-europe-summit-shadowed-by-conflicts.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/latin-america-europe-summit-shadowed-by-conflicts.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 20:27:16 EDT A jury in Martinique has found a man guilty of murder after he set his ex-girlfriend on fire in front of town hall three years ago. The public violent act occurred early in the evening and shocked residents and police in the normally quiet capital of Fort-de-France. 117958 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/martinique-man-found-guilty-of-burning-woman.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 19:42:17 EDT Exit polls show President Leonel Fernandez could win a third term on Friday and capture enough votes to avoid a run-off. Fernandez obtained 56 percent of votes based on interviews with almost 19,000 voters at 100 stations across the country, said Andrew Claster, vice president of Washington-based Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates. 117702 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47753-aptopix-dominican-republic-election.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/president-is-favored-in-todays-dominican-election.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/president-is-favored-in-todays-dominican-election.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 19:36:39 EDT A Venezuelan opposition leader is demanding that President Hugo Chavez explain accusations of close ties between his government and Colombian rebels. Opposition leader Manuel Rosales says the Venezuelan leader has not adequately responded after the international police agency Interpol endorsed the authenticity of computer files that Colombia says it seized from a rebel camp. 117945 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/rival-demands-chavez-clarify-rebel-links.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 19:15:24 EDT Exit polls show that Dominican President Leonel Fernandez could secure a first-round electoral victory. A Washington-based pollster says Fernandez has obtained 56 percent of votes based on interviews with almost 19,000 voters across the country. The polling firm of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates says the main challenger has obtained 39 percent of votes. 117940 http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/47724-dominican-republic-election.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/polls-show-dominican-president-leads-election.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/polls-show-dominican-president-leads-election.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 19:07:31 EDT A group of men posing as federal police agents helped six alleged drug-trafficking hit men escape from a Mexican prison Friday. Veracruz state prison director Zeferino Tejeda said prison officials told authorities that a group of men dressed as federal police and carrying official documents walked into the prison and said they had orders to move the six men to Mexico City. 117931 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/6-prisoners-escape-from-mexican-jail.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 18:30:04 EDT A top Cuban official said Friday that Raul Castro's government would consider loosening Internet restrictions on ordinary citizens newly allowed to purchase computers _ but Washington's decades-old economic embargo makes it impossible. 117928 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/cuba-blames-us-for-internet-restrictions.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 16:42:19 EDT British Airways posted record annual profits Friday, but a disastrous opening at its flagship Heathrow Airport terminal prompted the carrier's chief executive to refuse a bonus. 117539 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/ba-annual-profits-more-than-doubles-on-int-travel.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:46:02 EDT Gov. Janet Napolitano Thursday vetoed a bill that would have blocked her administration from moving on its own to enforcing new automobile emissions rules intended to reduce greenhouse gases to combat climate change. 117700 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/ariz-governor-vetoes-bill-on-greenhouse-gases.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:44:21 EDT British Energy Group PLC shares rose more than 5 percent on Friday after the nation's biggest electricity producer disclosed several bidders had made preliminary offers to buy the company. It did not identify the bidders or the amounts. 117555 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/british-energy-shares-up-5-5-percent.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:41:55 EDT Salvadoran migrants in the U.S. and elsewhere are sending home record amounts of money, while remittances to other countries taper off. El Salvador's Central Reserve Bank reported Friday that it has received a record $1.25 billion in the first four months of 2008. The previous record was set last year during the same time period _ $1.17 billion. 117698 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/salvador-remittances-hit-record-of-1-25b.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:41:09 EDT Some high-speed trains from Brussels to London and Paris may be canceled next week due to a Belgian train strike, Eurostar and Thalys said Friday. Belgium's state-owned railway SNCB had earlier warned of a possible strike on Tuesday as workers seek pay increases, saying people should avoid taking the train that day. 117696 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/belgian-trains-may-be-canceled.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:38:21 EDT An international conference agreed Friday to hold producers or handlers of genetically engineered organisms liable for damage their products cause to native plants or animals when transported across borders. 117695 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/group-agrees-on-liability-for-gmo-damage.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:37:52 EDT Ukraine became the 152nd country to join the World Trade Organization on Friday after 14 years of negotiations, getting in ahead of bigger neighbor Russia and committing the former Soviet republic to economic reforms and opening new trade channels. 117694 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/ukraine-becomes-152nd-nation-to-join-wto.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:37:33 EDT A Midwestern economic indicator hit a new low in May despite record farm income, brisk farm equipment sales and rising farmland prices. The Rural Mainstreet Index declined to 42.6 from April's reading of 47.5. The May figure is the lowest since the survey began in late 2005. 117693 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/weather-energy-prices-hampering-midwest-economy.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:32:19 EDT Colombian singer Shakira announced Thursday that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and American Howard Buffett will donate $200 million to a foundation that helps poor children in Latin America. 117689 http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080516/shakiras-foundation-for-poor-gets-millions.htm Fri, 16 May 2008 12:26:35 EDT