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OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — British Columbia declared a province-wide state of emergency Wednesday as Canada’s military joined firefighters in trying to douse 556 wildfires burning across the craggy region. The province’s public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said the measure — which allows for officials to take “every action necessary” to protect the public — would be in effect for 14 days. It is only the second time in more than a decade that it has […]
by Jordi Miro Agence France-Presse BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Imprisoned leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s unlikely bid for Brazil’s presidency took a big step forward Wednesday with the formal registration of his candidacy in the capital Brasilia. About 10,000 red-clad Workers’ Party faithful marched on the Supreme Electoral Court, where top Lula allies did the paperwork to name the two term ex-president, now in jail for corruption, as their champion in Brazil’s October […]
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Identification of the 24 victims of a fatal tourist bus crash in Ecuador has been hampered by the dead not carrying official documents, authorities said on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the bodies arrived without any identity documents, making it difficult to identify them,” said forensics chief Klever Viteri outside the morgue in the western town of Pichincha. So far, seven Colombians, four Venezuelans and two Ecuadorians have been identified. Bogota confirmed earlier in […]
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — A bus carrying travelers from Colombia and Venezuela crashed in Ecuador early Tuesday, killing 24 people and injuring 22 others, officials said. The dead included an unspecified number of Venezuelans and Colombians, whose embassies were notified of the accident outside Quito, they said. “Most of the victims were Colombians,” said Juan Zapata, security secretary for the capital city. The bus, which had foreign license plates, was on a downward stretch […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Former Brazil finance minister Guido Mantega was indicted Monday on money laundering and other charges as part of the corruption scandal that has rocked the country’s business and political elites. Mantega, 69, is accused of taking money from construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for helping to advance legislation that favored the company, Judge Sergio Moro wrote. It is the first time Mantega has been charged in the so-called “Operation Car […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — One of the fires scorching California Sunday moved in on a retirement community, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people. Residents of the Trilogy Glen Ivy community located between the Santa Ana Mountains and a major highway who have trouble driving in the dark were urged to leave immediately to escape the wrath of the Holy Fire, which has already burned through 22,714 acres (9,192 hectares) and is 41 […]
by Alexander Martinez / Esteban Rojas Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — A super-legislative body loyal to President Nicolas Maduro revoked the immunity of two Venezuelan opposition lawmakers Wednesday, in order to put them on trial for allegedly masterminding a drone “assassination” bid on the leader. Maduro, who has systematically sidelined the opposition as he tightens his grip over his troubled nation, accuses the opposition and Colombia of being behind Saturday’s drone “attack.” He has […]
by Hector Velasco / Rodrigo Almonacid Agence France-Presse BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia’s new President Ivan Duque took office Tuesday, with no shortage of tough issues to tackle, from heightened tensions with neighboring Venezuela to the lingering difficulties of peace-building with the nation’s rebel groups. The right-wing Duque, who is just 42 years old, succeeds Juan Manuel Santos — and could work to undo the deal his predecessor reached with leftist FARC guerrillas to […]
by Alexander Martinez Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan authorities vowed Monday to “root out” plots against President Nicolas Maduro after what they said was a weekend drone “assassination” bid backed by Colombia. An accusation by Maduro that his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos was behind the incident has worsened already fraught ties between Caracas and Bogota. Santos, who hands over power to elected successor Ivan Duque on Tuesday, has categorically rejected the accusation. […]
CLEARLAKE, Oakland (AFP) — California’s deadly Carr wildfire — now the state’s sixth most destructive — has claimed another life with a power linesman killed on the job its seventh fatality, officials said Sunday. The Carr Fire, located some 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of San Francisco, is still growing, CalFire said Sunday. Its intensity was so great at one point, that it generated a tornado-like whirl of fire — as well as its own […]
by Gianrigo Marletta Agence France-Presse REDDING, United States (AFP) – Around 12,000 firefighters battled Sunday to contain wildfires in California that have killed six people — but authorities warned “erratic” winds and dry conditions have caused the flames to grow and spread. “Very hot and dry conditions will continue over the West coast states through Sunday,” the National Weather Service said early Sunday. “Conditions around the Carr wildfire near Redding, California will continue to be […]
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AFP) — Paraguay’s agriculture minister and a deputy minister were among four people killed in an airplane crash near the Argentine border, rescuers said Thursday. The twin-engine light aircraft had taken off from the southern fishing town of Ayolas on Wednesday afternoon but crashed soon afterward, just eight kilometers (4 miles) from the airport. “There are no survivors,” Roque Gonzalez, a member of a search and rescue unit, told AFP. The dead were […]
