South America

Brazil says almost 1,300 hit by Zika-linked microcephaly

BRASILIA , Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s outbreak of Zika which has been linked to the devastating microcephaly birth defect in newborns in 1,271 cases since October has also killed 57 of those babies, authorities said Wednesday. The Health Ministry said in that as of April 30, 3,580 suspected cases had been reported and that another 2,492 were ruled out as false alarms. While 57 babies were known to have died of the condition, another 178 […]

Venezuela’s Maduro okays referendum if signatures validated

    by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday he would allow a referendum vote on removing him from power if electoral officials validate the 1.85 million signatures submitted on a petition. Opposition leaders on Monday had presented reams of signatures to election authorities calling for a referendum to remove the man they blame for a crushing economic crisis. “If on this second step, they say that the […]

Protesters in wheelchairs make dramatic displays in new call for benefits increase

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) — The ongoing and defiant protest led by Bolivians in wheelchairs took on new dimensions Tuesday (May 3) as the protesters push on for an increase in state benefits. The demonstration ended in violence in La Paz just steps away from the government palace. Several police officers were injured, as was one woman protester. Hundreds of protesters have arrived in La Paz from throughout the country to step up pressure on […]

Olympic torch to land in middle of Brazil crisis

by Damian WROCLAVSKY BRASILIA , Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff greets the Olympic flame on Tuesday in what could be her last big public appearance as president if she is impeached. The arrival of the flame in Brasilia from an ancient Greek temple via Switzerland will start a three-month countdown to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Brazil’s big chance to shine on the global stage. The flame will be met with indigenous rituals, dangled […]

Guatemala arrests dozens of gang members in raids

GUATEMALA CITY ,Guatemala (AFP) — Security forces on Monday launched raids on one of the biggest gangs in Guatemala, arresting 72 suspected members of a cell specializing in extortion, officials said. More than 120 raids were carried out by nearly 300 law enforcement officers and prosecutors in the south, center and northeast of the country. “The operation is focused on fighting the scourge of extortion,” the chief state prosecutor, Thelma Aldana, told a news conference. […]

Brazil impeachment: Rousseff begins her long goodbye

by Sebastian Smith RIO DE JANEIRO , Brazil (AFP) — Dilma Rousseff greets the Olympic flame in Brazil on Tuesday, but the pomp and ceremony will seem empty to a president likely to be suspended from office just a week later. The arrival of the flame in Brasilia from an ancient Greek temple via Switzerland will trigger a three-month countdown to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Brazil’s big chance to shine on the global […]

In Chile, world’s driest desert slakes thirst with fog

by Mathilde BELLENGER ALTO PATACHE , Chile (AFP) — Every morning at dawn, a thick mist known as “The Darkness” blows in from the Pacific to the edge of the Atacama Desert, the most arid place in the world. After tantalizing the northern Chilean desert with the promise of moisture, the mist evaporates in the sun, leaving the heat to bake the stark lunar landscape. But the South American country is researching how to use […]

Rousseff rallies Brazil anti-impeachment crowd

by Natalia RAMOS SAO PAULO , Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s embattled leftist President Dilma Rousseff vowed at a protest Sunday to go down fighting ahead of what could be her final full week in power before impeachment. Thousands of people attended May Day rallies organized by labor unions in cities across Latin America’s biggest country, with Rousseff telling a crowd in the financial powerhouse Sao Paulo that she would “fight to the end.” The traditional […]

Crisis-hit Venezuela sets clocks ahead to save power

by Ernesto TOVAR CARACAS , Venezuela (AFP) — With their country gripped by an economic crisis, Venezuelans lost half an hour of sleep Sunday as their clocks were set forward to save power on President Nicolas Maduro’s orders. At 2:30 am local time, the oil-dependent South American nation shifted its time ahead by 30 minutes — to four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. The move, announced in mid-April, is part of a package of measures […]

Planeload of 33 rescued lions to fly from Peru to S. Africa

by Luis Jaime CISNEROS LIMA , Peru (AFP) — A planeload of 33 lions rescued from abuse in Peruvian and Colombian circuses will fly to South Africa Friday in what campaigners call the largest ever airlift of big cats. The lions, with names such as Zeus and Shakira, were freed after the use of wild animals in circuses was outlawed in Peru in 2011 and Colombia in 2013. They have been rounded up with the […]

Venezuela opposition claims million signatures against president

by Alexander MARTINEZ CARACAS , Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s opposition tried to sack the food minister Thursday for shortages in the crisis-hit country and claimed a million people backed its call for a referendum to remove the president. President Nicolas Maduro promptly rejected the demand, the latest offensive in the battle to replace the government over a crisis that has families queuing up for food rations. “We are facing the worst food emergency in Venezuela’s […]

Red tide affects thousands of molluscs along Chile’s coast

ISLA DE CHILOE, Chile (Reuters) — Thousands of molluscs, such as clams and mussels, were found stranded on the island of Chiloe, located in southern Chile, after being infected by a toxic red tide. In a statement on its website, the Chilean Navy said the molluscs were found in Playa Grande de Cucao, Huentemo and Chanquin, all islands belonging to the archipelago of Chiloe. Smaller quantities of crabs were also spotted in an area covering […]