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CALI, Colombia (AFP) — Colombian prosecutors said Monday that bodies found in a border jungle area were those of three Ecuadoran journalists who were killed after being held hostage. The bodies, found on Thursday, were those of reporter Javier Ortega, 32, photographer Paul Rivas, 45, and their driver Efrain Segarra 60. The trio was abducted on March 26. The bodies “will be handed over to Ecuadoran authorities who already have arranged the air transport from […]
by Nina Negron Agence France-Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina ground to a halt Monday as public service unions blocked road, rail and air transport with a nationwide 24-hour strike in protest at the government’s latest deal with the International Monetary Fund. In a massive show of force against the center-right government of President Mauricio Macri, organizers said at least one million workers were taking part in the industrial action which halted trains, subways, buses […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan authorities on Wednesday revised to 18 the death toll following a stampede at a crowded Caracas club over the weekend. The deaths occurred after a brawl broke out during a middle school graduation party and someone detonated the tear gas, sending more than 500 people rushing for the exits, said Interior and Justice Minister Nestor Reverol. “The tear gas canister did not cause the death of these 18 people,” he told […]
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Bolivia’s new presidential palace is certainly an attention-getter, from its heliport to its 29-story tower and its presidential jacuzzi in South America’s poorest nation. President Evo Morales, the Andean nation’s leftist leader, is shrugging off naysayers. This is “wasteful,” opposition leader Samuel Doria Medina claims. The $34-40 million price tag would be better spent on a cancer hospital, he said. Even a Bolivian cardinal, Toribio Ticona, took the time out […]
SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Police on Wednesday seized church files in raids in Santiago and Rancagua, as the Catholic Church scrambled to try to put a better face on a sex abuse scandal that has rocked Chile. The surprise operations came as Maltese archbishop Charles Scicluna and fellow papal envoy Jordi Bertomeu are visiting for a second time to take witness statements from victims of sexual abuse in the church and provide instruction to […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s highest court refused Wednesday to consider a lawsuit challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election victory in May. The elections chamber of the Supreme Court announced its decision on Twitter, and did not give the reasoning behind it. The court is widely accused of being biased in favor of the president. On May 20, Maduro was re-elected for a second six-year term with 68 percent of the vote in a poll boycotted […]
by Julia Rios and Maggy Donaldson Agence France-Presse MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Armed riot police and pro-government paramilitaries attacked barricades manned by anti-government activists in the Nicaraguan capital, plunging city neighborhoods into violence and chaos in an attempt to stamp out a two-month-old uprising against President Daniel Ortega. The government offensive launched overnight into early Monday comes as Ortega enters his fifth day of silence regarding the Roman Catholic Church’s proposal to restart talks aimed at […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peruvian lawmaker Kenji Fujimori survived a vote to dismiss him from office on Thursday, part of a long-running battle with his sister Keiko for control of their father Alberto’s political dynasty. The popular 38-year-old lawmaker avoided being disqualified for running from office, leaving the way open for his anticipated 2021 presidential run, and also maintains his parliamentary immunity. The measure to remove him received 43 votes in favor, 20 against […]
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed with Argentina to a standby loan of $50 billion over a three-year period, Finance Minister Nicolas Dujovne said Thursday. “We have looked to the IMF to avoid a crisis,” the minister told a news conference in Buenos Aires, adding there would be an “immediate” payment of $15 billion. “We are engaged in the construction of a normal country. It support for our program,” he […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru’s congress suspended lawmaker Kenji Fujimori late Wednesday over corruption allegations but lacked a quorum to dismiss him as part of a fight with his sister for control of their father’s political dynasty. After 11 hours of debate, 61 lawmakers voted to suspend the youngest son of former president Alberto Fujimori. But the speaker of the chamber, Luis Galarreta, then suspended the session citing a lack of quorum — 67 lawmakers […]
by Paula Ramon Agence France-Presse SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP)- He’s got barely one percent in the polls so far, but 35-year-old leftist Guilherme Boulos says Brazil is ripe for a new face willing to take on the corrupt and powerful in October presidential elections. “It’s David against Goliath,” Boulos acknowledged in an interview at his small office in Sao Paulo. “But it’s possible because people are searching for a new form of doing politics.” Boulos represents […]
by Alina Dieste © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States and six influential members of the Organization of American States urged the body Monday to reject Venezuela’s elections and to begin moves to kick Caracas out of the club. There is anger among pan-American nations at Venezuela’s slide into chaos and autocratic rule, fueled by what US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dubbed President Nicolas Maduro’s attempt to “dismantle democracy.” […]
