South America

Venezuela gov’t backers attack opposition National Assembly lawmakers

https://youtu.be/Ctl3doavxrE CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan pro-government militants wielding clubs and pipes stormed into the opposition-held National Assembly Wednesday, attacking lawmakers and leaving seven hurt including three with blood streaming from their heads. The special independence day legislative session turned into a violent, nine-hour siege when supporters of leftist President Nicolas Maduro then blocked the building and prevented 350 lawmakers, staff and others from leaving. Police initially did not intervene, but eventually joined soldiers to […]

Continue Reading →

Argentine pregnant woman’s death sparks outrage

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) – Friends, family and neighbors of a 19-year-old pregnant suspected murder victim lit several cars on fire and threw rocks at police outside a police station in the city of Glew south of Buenos Aires on Wednesday (July 5). Local news outlets reported the violence broke out because police had not yet charged anyone in the death of Ayelen Roldan, who was found hanged to death in a home in the […]

Continue Reading →

Guatemala to extradite fugitive ex-governor to Mexico

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) – Guatemala will extradite Mexican ex-governor Javier Duarte for him to face racketeering and money-laundering charges after he told a court Tuesday he wanted to return home to clear his name. Duarte is known for presiding over an explosion of violence and human rights abuses in the eastern state of Veracruz from 2010 to 2016, when he abruptly resigned and went into hiding. Arrested at a lakeside resort in Guatemala in […]

Continue Reading →

Colombia’s rebel leader released from hospital after mild stroke

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) – The leader of the rebel group Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) was released Tuesday from a hospital where he was treated after he suffered a mild stroke, the government said Tuesday. After spending two days in the hospital, Rodrigo Londono has now travelled to Cuba to continue his convalescence, the high commissioner for the country’s peace process said. Doctors said the FARC leader, 58, checked himself into a hospital in Villavicencio in […]

Continue Reading →

Powerful storms wreak havoc in central New York state

MADISON COUNTY, New York (Reuters) — A powerful storm system in Madison County, in central New York state, flooded streets and toppled over power lines and trees on Saturday (July 1). Roadways turned dangerous for motorists after water and debris filled the streets, local media reported, citing the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Several thousand residents lost power that was eventually restored by night time.

Continue Reading →

Graft charge against Brazil’s president filed in Congress

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday sent a corruption charge against President Michel Temer to Congress for it to decide whether the president should be put on trial. Although just a formality, the handover of the case meant one more step forward in the growing crisis that threatens to bring down Temer just over a year after he took power following his predecessor’s impeachment. The center-right leader this week became the first […]

Continue Reading →

Argentine authorities seize at least five tons of marijuana hidden in a truck

(Reuters) — Argentine police have seized at least five tons of cocaine in the city of Berazategui, located in the Buenos Aires province, local media reported on Wednesday (June 28). The drugs were found in an abandoned semi-trailer truck with a thermal box, within a hidden compartment. Police seized more than 7,000 packages from the truck which are still being counted, local media reported. This means that the amount of the drugs confiscated could increase. […]

Continue Reading →

Chaos breaks out outside Venezuela’s National Assembly

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) — Drama broke out at Venezuela’s National Assembly on Tuesday (June 27) where two dozen lawmakers said they were being besieged by pro-government gangs. Video that emerged on social media showed National Guard troops outside the National Assembly as opposition legislators shouted. The National Assembly chaos came as a Venezuelan police helicopter attacked the Supreme Court, ratcheting up a political crisis in what President Nicolas Maduro condemned as a “terrorist” attack. There […]

Continue Reading →

Brazil prosecutors seek graft charge against president

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian prosecutors filed corruption charges against President Michel Temer on Monday, a step toward possibly making him the country’s first serving leader to face a criminal trial. In a filing to the Supreme Court, the public prosecution service accused Temer of receiving a 500,000-real (about $150,000) bribe from the boss of a meatpacking company implicated in a corruption scandal.

Continue Reading →

Three dead, 30 missing in Colombia tourist boat wreck: police

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — At least three people were dead and 30 were missing after a boat carrying some 150 tourists sank in a reservoir in northwestern Colombia on Sunday, police said. Officials did not indicate what caused the boat to sink in the El Penol reservoir in the tourist town of Guatape. “So far we have three people deceased” and “approximately 30 missing,” police commander Jorge Hernando Nieto said on BluRadio.

Continue Reading →

6.8-magnitude quake hits Guatemala, second in eight days: USGS

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Guatemala’s coast Thursday, injuring four people and damaging homes and roads, officials said, just eight days after another strong tremor killed five people in the Central American country. The quake struck at 6:31 am (1231 GMT) with its epicenter in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 46.8 kilometers, about 23 kilometers (14 miles) southwest of Puerto San Jose, the United States Geological Survey […]

Continue Reading →

Five dead after strong quake hits Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Guatemala and southern Mexico Wednesday, killing five people, causing power outages, and knocking down homes, officials said. The epicenter was about 156 kilometers (97 miles) west of Guatemala City in the department of San Marcos, the Institute of Seismology said. The tremor was felt across most of the country, including the capital, as well as in neighboring Mexico, according to Guatemala’s National Coordinator for Disaster […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 89 90 91 92 93 … 119