Latin America

Venezuela receives second batch of 2.5 million vaccines via COVAX

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela on Sunday received a second batch of 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX mechanism, while the government said it hoped to reach immunity for 70% of Venezuelans by the end of the month. Pan American Health Organization…

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Brazil passes 600,000 COVID-19 deaths

Brazil has registered more than 600,000 deaths due to COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday, making it the second country in the world to pass that milestone after the…

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Chile prosecutors to investigate President Pinera following Pandora papers leak

Chile’s public prosecutor said on Friday it would open an investigation into the sale of a mining project involving the family of President Sebastian Pinera after new details emerged about…

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One month on, El Salvador’s bitcoin use grows but headaches persist

A growing number of El Salvadorans have experimented with bitcoin since the country became the first to adopt it as legal tender last month, with a couple of million dollars…

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Protecting indigenous people key to saving Amazon, say environmentalists

Protecting the native inhabitants of the Amazon and their right to ancestral lands is crucial to saving the rainforest because they are its best guardians, environmental activists said on Monday.…

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Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hits Peru-Brazil border region– EMSC

(Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck the Peru-Brazil border region on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. The quake was at a depth of 597 km (370…

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Venezuela to subtract six zeros from currency, second overhaul in three years

CARACAS, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela on Friday will launch its second monetary overhaul in three years by cutting six zeros from the bolivar currency in response to hyperinflation, simplifying…

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Fires in the Brazilian Amazon retreat in September

Fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest declined by nearly half in September compared a year ago, government data showed, with rains and law enforcement initiatives helping to temper the destruction. A…

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Ecuador seeks to identify remains of 116 inmates killed in prison riot

Ecuador is seeking to identify the remains of the 116 inmates killed during a riot at one of its largest prisons earlier this week, the latest bout of violence authorities…

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Extreme poverty in Venezuela rises to 76.6% – study

Around three-fourths of Venezuelans now live in extreme poverty as the once-prosperous OPEC nation's hyperinflationary economic collapse continued for a seventh straight year, according to a study published this week.…

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Brazil registers 8,668 new COVID cases, 243 deaths

Brazil has registered 8,668 new COVID-19 cases and 243 new deaths, the Health Ministry said. Its pandemic death toll has now reached 594,443. Photo: EPA-EFE/MARCELO CHELLO

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Under U.S. sanctions, Iran and Venezuela strike oil export deal – sources

Venezuela has agreed to a key contract to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that it can use to improve the quality of its tar-like crude, with the first…

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El Salvador buys 150 more bitcoins, president says

El Salvador has bought 150 more bitcoins, President Nayib Bukele announced, taking the Central American country's holdings of the volatile cryptocurrency to 700 coins. "We just bought dip," Bukele tweeted…

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Lula retains solid lead over Bolsonaro for 2022 Brazil race, poll shows

Brazil's leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remains ahead of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro by a significant margin in voter preferences for the 2022 elections, a survey by…

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European Union-style bloc pitched for Latin America, Caribbean

Latin American and Caribbean nations should aspire to a bloc like the European Union, Mexico's president and other leaders said at a summit on Saturday, in a bid to wrest…

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Argentina’s Fernandez reshuffles Cabinet after crisis week

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Argentine President Alberto Fernandez reshuffled his Cabinet late on Friday, looking to draw a line under a bruising week that saw infighting within the…

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Venezuelan leader Maduro lands in Mexico ahead of Latin American leaders’ summit

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Mexico City on Friday, Mexico's foreign ministry said, ahead of a summit of a recently elected "pink tide" of leftist…

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Bolsonaro’s support hits fresh low ahead of Brazil 2022 vote, poll shows

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's popularity has hit the lowest point of his time in office, a Datafolha poll showed, with 53% of respondents disapproving of him ahead of a presidential…

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Half of Chileans still scratching heads over November presidential pick, poll shows

Leftist former student leader Gabriel Boric is leading Chile's race for president with just over two months until Election Day, but half of all Chileans are still trying to make…

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Pele to leave intensive care this week, says daughter

Pele will be moved out of intensive care in the next day or two as the Brazil soccer great continues his recovery from surgery, his daughter Kely Nascimento said. The 80-year-old,…

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Earthquake of magnitude 6 strikes Salta, Argentina – EMSC

(Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck Salta, Argentina on Monday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 200 km (124.27 miles),…

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Argentines head to polls in litmus test for Peronists

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Argentines headed to the polls on Sunday for midterm primaries in a litmus test for the center-left Peronist government of Alberto Fernandez, which has…

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A glimpse under the hood of El Salvador’s bitcoin experiment

El Salvador on Tuesday rolled out cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, an unprecedented move that faced some technical hiccups on its first day and left many wondering how it will…

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El Salvador’s world-first adoption of bitcoin endures bumpy first day

El Salvador's historic adoption of bitcoin as legal tender on Tuesday was beset by teething problems, as an angry protest by mistrustful citizens, technological glitches and a dip in the…

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El Salvador leads world in adopting bitcoin as official currency

El Salvador on Tuesday became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, a real-world experiment proponents say will lower commission costs for billions of dollars sent from abroad but which…

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Brazil braces for pro-Bolsonaro rallies, fears of coup

Brazil prepared for Independence Day demonstrations on Tuesday by supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has called for a show of support for his attacks on the country's Supreme Court…

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FIFA chief says Brazil game abandonment was ‘crazy’

FIFA is investigating the abandonment of the Brazil-Argentina World Cup qualifier with its president Gianni Infantino labelling the events "crazy", while Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ready to take disciplinary action against their Argentine…

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Pele recovering in hospital following removal of tumour

Brazil soccer great Pele said on Monday that he was recovering in hospital from surgery to remove a tumour from his colon. Pele, the only player to win three World Cups, did…

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Beef giant Brazil halts China exports after confirming two mad cow disease cases

Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter, has suspended beef exports to its No. 1 customer China after confirming two cases of "atypical" mad cow disease in two separate domestic meat…

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Snake venom may become tool in fight against coronavirus, Brazilian study suggests

Brazilian researchers have found that a molecule in the venom of a type of snake inhibited coronavirus reproduction in monkey cells, a possible first step toward a drug to combat…

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Bolsonaro says he will be arrested, killed or declared winner

BRASILIA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday said he sees three alternatives for his future: winning the 2022 presidential elections, death or prison. "I have…

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HSBC initiates legal proceedings against El Salvador claiming breach of treaty with UK

HSBC Holdings said the banking group has initiated legal proceedings against El Salvador for what the company called a breach of the nation's investment treaty with the UK. "HSBC Latin…

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Peru’s foreign minister resigns in setback for new leader Castillo

Peru's foreign minister resigned amid outrage over remarks he made before taking office about a rebel group that killed tens of thousands of people, making him the first Cabinet member…

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Photo Story: Freestyle BMX takes over gun violence in Caracas

Venezuelan BMX athlete Daniel Dhers in action during a visit to the Cota 905 neighbourhood in Caracas, Venezuela. The Caracas neighbourhood known as Cota 905, which a month ago was…

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EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Anchored boats in the polluted Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO LACERDA

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‘Once in 100 years’ drought seen affecting Argentine grains exports into next year

A once-a-century drought has lowered the water level of Argentina's main grains transport river, reducing farm exports and boosting logistics costs in a trend that meteorologists said will likely continue…

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Peru study finds Sinopharm COVID vaccine 50.4% effective against infections

A two-dose COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinopharm was 50.4% effective in preventing infections in health workers in Peru when it was seeing a surge in cases fuelled by virus variants,…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro rolls out tanks to cover his weak position

The clouds of dark exhaust spewing from aging tanks and amphibious vehicles rolling past far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday were a poor smoke screen for a leader whose political support is slipping and…

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Photo Story: The Silleteritos Parade of Santa Elena in Colombia

Silleteros children attend the 23rd Silleteritos Parade of Santa Elena, Antioquia, Colombia. This parade precedes the Medellin Flower Fair which will take place from 12 to 22 August. EPA- Photo:…

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Delta variant ‘highly worrisome’ as spread grows across Americas – PAHO

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is "highly worrisome" as the mutation has spread to nearly two dozen countries across the Americas, officials with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro fans judiciary flames, calls top judge ‘son of a whore’

BRASILIA: Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro ignored calls to drop his feud with the Supreme Court on Friday (Aug 6) and called one of its justices a "son of a…

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Brazil reports 42,159 COVID cases, 1,056 death in 24 hours

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil had 42,159 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 1,056 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Friday. The South American country has now registered 20,108,746 cases since the pandemic began, while…

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