QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) – Ecuador reported on Tuesday its first case of a human being infected with bird flu, weeks after the globally-spreading disease was detected on poultry farms in the South American country. “The first case of influenza A-H5 (bird flu) was confirmed in a nine-year-old girl in the province of Bolivar,” in the heart of the Andes, the health ministry said in a statement. “We presume that the infection was transmitted by direct contact […]
Tag: South American
Netanyahu orders closure of Israel’s Paraguay embassy
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the closure of Israel’s embassy in Paraguay, his office said, after the South American country announced Wednesday it was moving its mission back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to close the Israeli Embassy in Paraguay,” Netanyahu’s office said in a tweet. “Israel views with utmost gravity the extraordinary decision by Paraguay which will cloud bilateral relations.” Paraguay’s announcement […]
Pets or pests? Quaker parrots invade Madrid
by Alvaro VILLALOBOS MADRID, Spain (AFP) — They may be cute, colourful and chatty, but South American quaker parrots have taken up residence in Madrid and other Spanish cities, irritating residents with their shrill squawks and destabilising the ecosystem. The small, bright green and grey-breasted birds — also known as monk parakeets — first arrived in Spain in cages as entertaining pets, but some either escaped or were let loose, getting their first taste of […]





