South America is a continent situated in the western hemisphere and, mostly, the southern hemisphere, bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest.

As part of the Americas like North America, South America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a New World unknown to Europeans.

South America has an area of 17,840,000 km² (6,890,000 sq mi), or almost 3.5% of the Earth's surface. As of 2005, its population was estimated at more than 371,000,000. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America).

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L.A. Times - Latin America

Rose Parade float will pay tribute to Mexico
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The creation, which will be decorated by Mexican immigrants and their families, will begin a year of celebration marking the country's 200th birthday. Inside a giant warehouse in Irwindale, crews are finishing the construction of a dozen Rose Parade floats, including a large dog, a carousel and a court jester.
'Top guns' of Tumaco keep coca crops in check
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
'Flying here is the biggest rush,' says a Texas crop-duster, one of 20 pilots who navigate Colombian jungles to spray herbicide while risking potshots from cocaine traffickers. Spraying 800 pounds of herbicides on coca over treacherous terrain while getting shot at is not everyone's idea of a good time. But for Dave, a 35-year-old crop-duster from Texas turned "top gun" of Tumaco, it's a "kick in the pants."
Mexico's Calderon presents political reform proposal
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The sweeping changes would allow federal lawmakers to be reelected and provide for presidential runoff elections if no candidate wins more than half the votes. Mexican President Felipe Calderon proposed sweeping political reforms Tuesday that would allow federal lawmakers and some other officials to be reelected and provide for runoff elections for president if no candidate gained more than half the votes.
Chile's love for Bachelet goes only so far
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Most voters rejected Eduardo Frei, her party's candidate in the presidential election. The country's economic and education woes apparently are to blame. An overwhelming majority of Chileans are happy with President Michelle Bachelet, grateful for the social safety net she has extended to women and the poor, and optimistic about the future.
Report of citrus greening disease in western Mexico worries California orange growers
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The discovery shows that the tree-killing disease, which has ravaged groves in Florida and Brazil, is working its way toward California. California orange growers say they see ominous news in a report out of Mexico last week that agriculture officials discovered 51 trees infected with the feared citrus greening disease in the western Mexico coastal states of Nayarit and Jalisco.
Mexico's debt is downgraded to just above 'junk'
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Standard & Poor's move reflects worries about the country's growing budget deficit and dwindling oil revenue. Mexico's credit rating took another hit Monday, edging closer to "junk" status, on worries about the country's growing budget deficit and dwindling oil revenue.

UN News Centre - Americas

Joblessness plagues better educated youth in Latin America - UN report
Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500
Even though young people aged 15 to 29 in the so-called Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are better educated than ever before they are more likely to be unemployed, while a Latin American youth is 30 times more likely to be murdered than one in Europe, according to a United Nations report released today.
Economic recovery in Latin America and Caribbean to be faster than expected - UN
Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500
Latin America and the Caribbean will bounce back faster than expected from the global financial crisis, with growth projected at over 4 per cent next year, a regional United Nations agency for economic development announced today.
UNESCO chief speaks out at murder of another Mexican journalist
Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has condemned the murder of Mexican journalist José Emilio Galindo Robles, the second such killing in less than one month.

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