South America

Argentina breaks COVID-19 case record as daily infections near 100,000

Argentina broke its record for COVID-19 infections, approaching 100,000 daily cases as it faces a third wave of the pandemic, driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. But the record…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro discharged from the hospital after gut blockage

SAO PAULO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he was discharged from hospital on Wednesday morning, two days after being admitted with an intestinal obstruction. "Being discharged…

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Rio de Janeiro cancels Carnival parade

Rio de Janeiro has cancelled its street parades and parties during its world-famous Carnival for a second year due to an increase in Covid cases and the threat from the…

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COVID-19 infects 214 on five cruise ships in Brazilian waters

Five cruise ships in Brazilian waters have reported 214 cases of COVID-19 among their crew and passengers, including two ships that are in quarantine in the port of Santos, health…

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UPDATED: Brazil’s Bolsonaro taken to hospital with abdominal pain

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized on Monday with an intestinal blockage and may need to undergo surgery in the latest complication from a…

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Brazil health agency warns against boarding cruise ships amid COVID-19 outbreaks

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian health agency Anvisa on Sunday warned passengers against boarding cruise ships operating along the Brazilian coast after outbreaks of COVID-19 affecting crew and customers, according…

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Brazil coffee crop down 24.4% in 2021 amid drought, off year for arabica -Conab

SAO PAULO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's coffee crop reached 47.7 million 60-kg bags this year, down 24.4% from the record output seen in 2020, the government's food supply and…

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Need of proof of vaccination to enter the Brazil

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Luis Roberto Barroso ruled that the country must demand proof of vaccination for visitors seeking to enter the country. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied…

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Bolsonaro dismisses vaccination requirement for entry into Brazil

Brazil will require that unvaccinated travelers entering the country go on a five-day quarantine followed by a COVID-19 test, its health minister said, after its president said he opposed the…

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Argentina detects first Omicron case

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Argentina has detected its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in a person who had travelled from South Africa, the South American country's…

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Brazil reports first Latin American cases of Omicron variant

Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said that two Brazilians had tested positive for the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the first reported cases in Latin America. Anvisa said a traveler arriving in Sao…

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El Salvador plans first ‘Bitcoin City’, backed by bitcoin bonds

El Salvador plans to build the world's first "Bitcoin City", funded initially by bitcoin-backed bonds, President Nayib Bukele said in the weekend, doubling down on his bet to harness the…

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Ecuador and Colombia to open shared border from Dec. 1

Ecuador and Colombia agreed to the bilateral reopening of their shared border from the start of December after it was closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, and pledged to work together…

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Amazon sees worst deforestation levels in 15 years

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest has hit its highest level in over 15 years, official data shows. A report by Brazil's space research agency (Inpe) found that deforestation increased by…

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Brazil minister says no plans to join OPEC for now

ABU DHABI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Brazil has no plans to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for now, although it is working with the producer group,…

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Argentines vote in midterm trial by fire for President Fernandez

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Argentines head to the polls on Sunday for midterm elections that will establish the power balance in Congress, with the ruling Peronist party battling…

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Ecuador prison violence leaves at least 68 dead

At least 68 prisoners were killed and more than two dozen injured in overnight violence at Ecuador's Penitenciaria del Litoral prison, the government said on Saturday, in what officials characterize…

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Brazil plays down ‘mad cow’ risk in suspect Rio cases

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said that two cases reported on Thursday of a neurodegenerative disorder in patients in Rio de Janeiro state were not related to beef consumption, tamping down fears…

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Bolsonaro joins Liberal Party ahead of 2022 election

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will join the centrist Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) ahead of next year's presidential elections, according to a party statement released on Wednesday. Bolsonaro had left his right-wing…

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Brazil senators back criminal charges against Bolsonaro over Covid handling

Brazilian senators have voted to recommend charging President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the devastating Covid pandemic. A Senate panel backed a report calling for charges against Mr Bolsonaro…

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro should face homicide charge for COVID-19 errors, says Senate report

The senator leading a congressional probe into Brazil's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has recommended that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with homicide for alleged government errors that led to…

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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