Tag: Latin America

Mexican Ambassador visits INC Executive Minister, expresses appreciation for Church’s projects to fight poverty

  (Eagle News) – Mexican ambassador to the Philippines, H.E. Gerardo Lozano Arredondo, visited Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) Executive Minister, Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, at the INC Central Office in Quezon City on Wednesday, April 18. Ambassador Lozano’s visit comes just a week after the visit of the Ambassador of Brazil to the Philippines, H.E. Rodrigo do Amaral Souza, on April 11, and nine months after the courtesy call of the Ambassador of […]

Ivanka helps fill Trump’s absence at Latin America summit

  by Ana Fernandez © Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Ivanka Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are stepping in to fill US President Donald Trump’s absence at a summit of Latin American leaders taking place in Peru late this week. But with the US leader a no-show because of a last-minute cancellation to oversee America’s response to an alleged poison gas attack in Syria, the blaze of international attention directed at the Friday-Saturday gathering […]

Trump to make the first trip to Latin America

by Andrew Beatty Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump will make his Latin America debut next month, visiting Peru and Colombia after harsh rhetoric towards Hispanic migrants and neighbors to the south. Trump will travel to Peru to attend the Summit of the Americas in Lima on April 13-14, a gathering of leaders from across the Western Hemisphere. From there he will visit Colombia, White House officials told AFP. The announcement ends […]

US, Mexico play up increased security cooperation

by Dave Clark / Joshua Howat Berger Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted Friday the US and Mexico are bolstering cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, brushing aside concerns about the impact of his boss Donald Trump’s anti-Mexican barbs. The US-Mexican relationship has been strained by Trump’s attacks on Mexican immigrants and the North American Free Trade Agreement — and his insistence on building a border wall. Critics say […]

Brazil president avoids corruption trial

by Damian Wroclavsky Agence France-Presse BRASÍLIA, Brazil (AFP) – Brazil’s Congress rejected corruption charges against President Michel Temer on Wednesday, meaning he will not have to face trial and is free to pursue austerity reforms in Latin America’s biggest economy. The vote in the lower house threw out the charges just an hour after Temer, 77, was discharged from hospital where he was admitted earlier with a blocked urinary tract. Temer’s allies had been widely expected to […]

Fleeing Maduro critic says Venezuela now lawless

by Damian Wroclavsky Agence France-Presse BRASILIA, Brazil  –  Venezuela’s fugitive former top prosecutor resurfaced in Brazil on Wednesday claiming to possess “a lot” of proof of President Nicolas Maduro’s corruption and warning that her life remains in danger. Days after a dramatic escape from chaotic Venezuela, Luisa Ortega, 59, turned up the heat on Maduro, who has asked Interpol to issue a “red notice” warrant for the arrest of his critic. Ortega — speaking at a […]

US VP Pence stresses ‘peaceable’ solution for Venezuela

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — The United States “will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles,” Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday, but he emphasized a peaceful path even as he stood by President Donald Trump’s startling warning that US military action remained a possibility. “We have many options for Venezuela, but the president also remains confident that working with all of our allies across Latin America we can achieve a peaceable solution,” Pence said in a news conference alongside […]

Brazilian president lashes out ahead of court verdict

by Carola Sole Agence France-Presse BRASILIA, Brazil  – President Michel Temer and Brazil’s chief prosecutor were in open warfare Monday on the eve of a court verdict that could lead to the scandal-plagued president’s removal from office. The front pages of major newspapers were dominated by accusations made by Temer’s lawyer that Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot is pressuring the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to rule against Temer when it meets to deliver a verdict, starting Tuesday. Temer […]

Solar eclipse wows onlookers in Latin America

Onlookers in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina were treated to a special sight early on Sunday (February 26) when they witnessed the first solar eclipse of 2017. The phenomenon is known as a ring eclipse, where the moon is smaller than the sun, so a ring of light is visible when the moon passes over the sun. Observers donned sunglasses with special filters, heeding experts’ warnings that viewers should not look directly at the eclipse without […]

China to establish diplomatic ties with Sao Tome: Reuters witness

  China is set to sign an agreement on Monday establishing diplomatic ties with former Taiwan ally Sao Tome and Principe, according to a banner in a state guesthouse in Beijing announcing the ceremony, a Reuters witness said. Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada said on Thursday that breaking relations with Taiwan was the correct decision given China’s importance as a strategic partner and the need to improve the lives of Sao Tomeans. […]

Colombia ceasefire to end half-century war in hours

by Alina DIESTE BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — A historic midnight ceasefire on Sunday is set to end a 52-year-old war between the Colombian state and FARC rebels. Hundreds of thousands of Colombians have died since 1964 as rebel armies and gangs battled in the jungles in what is considered Latin America’s last major civil armed conflict. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Sunday issued the order for its fighters to observe the cease […]

Global database for women exposed to Zika

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Swiss doctors have asked thousands of colleagues worldwide to provide data for the first global registry of women exposed to Zika, the team’s lead researcher said Tuesday. Such a database is urgently needed to better understand the deadly virus and how it is transmitted, said David Baud, a physician in the obstetrics research unit of the University Hospital in Lausanne. “Potentially thousands of pregnancies are affected worldwide,” he […]