South America

Venezuela opposition sets up new showdown with Maduro

by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Venezuela’s opposition said Thursday it will seek to trigger early elections by declaring President Nicolas Maduro has “abandoned his post,” launching a new year of political battles in a country fighting off economic collapse. Kicking off its second year in control of the Venezuelan National Assembly, the opposition installed a new legislative speaker and announced a fresh offensive against the leftist president it has vowed […]

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Jovenel Moise confirm as Haiti’s new president: official

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Jovenel Moise won Haiti’s presidential elections with 55.6 percent of the first round vote held on November 20, according to official results released Tuesday. The announcement by Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council puts an end to a protracted electoral process that began in October 2015 and paralyzed the Caribbean country’s politics for more than a year. Moise, a 48-year-old political neophyte, is due to take power February 7 to succeed Jocelerme Privert, […]

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Huge wildfire destroys homes in Chile tourist city

SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — A wildfire ravaged 50 hectares of woodland and destroyed homes in the tourist city of Valparaiso in western Chile, driving the authorities to evacuate hundreds of people on Monday. At least one person was reported hurt after the fire broke out on the outskirts of the historic port city, the National Emergencies Office (ONEMI) said in a statement. Television pictures showed thick grey smoke filling the streets in the Laguna Verde […]

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Former Argentine leader Kirchner charged in corruption case

by Daniel MEROLLA Agence France Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner was charged in a corruption case Tuesday and slapped with a $630-million asset freeze over public tenders awarded to a businessman friend during her administration. Kirchner, who was in office from 2007 to 2015, was charged with illicit association and fraudulent administration for allegedly favoring construction magnate Lazaro Baez for public contracts in Patagonia, her southern political bastion. The […]

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Peru’s Sabancaya volcano roars to life

AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) — Peru’s Sabancaya volcano rumbled back to life on Monday (December 26), spewing ash and smoke some 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) into the sky, in the latest of a series of explosions. Local authorities warned surrounding communities could be affected by ash from the volcano which came to life at 8:24 a.m. (1324 GMT) Monday morning. The volcano had similar explosions on December 16 as well, as a handful leading up to […]

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Venezuela reopens Colombia, Brazil border crossings

by Sonia Vivas, with Esteban Rojas in Caracas Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Thousands of Venezuelans crossed into Colombia on Tuesday to buy food and medicine after their government partially reopened the border following a messy crackdown on what it called currency hoarders. The border with Brazil was also partially reopened, officials in Brasilia said. “Thank God the border is open again,” one 29-year-old, Christian Sanchez, told AFP. “A lot of people have […]

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Trump hails electoral college victory on Twitter

(Reuters) — Republican Donald Trump prevailed in the U.S. Electoral College voting on Monday (December 19) to officially win election as the next president, easily dashing long-shot hopes by a small movement of detractors hoping to block him from gaining the White House. The president-elect posted a tweet about the Electoral College vote. “We did it! thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election, (despite all of the distorted […]

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Severe cold wave hits Midwestern USA

CCTV — A severe cold wave has hit the United States Midwest, including Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, drastically lowering temperatures across the region. Chicago, the capital of Illinois, experienced its lowest temperature of 23 degrees Celsius on Dec 18, which almost matched the city’s record low temperature of 23.3 degrees Celsius, that happened on the same day in 1983. In order to ensure road safety in the region, Illinois sent more than 1,700 snow sweepers […]

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Protests against President-elect Trump in New York

NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — The New York Immigration Coalition on Sunday (December 18) organized a rally against President-elect Donald Trump in New York City to mark International Migrants Day. “I’ve come with a message of steadfast solidarity from the brothers and sisters of Community Voices Heard,” said a representative of the organization at the podium. “Why? Because we are immigrants. Why? Because we are an organization built 20 years ago. Women who were […]

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Venezuela bank note chaos prompts looting

Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Desperate Venezuelans looted delivery trucks and clashed with police Friday as protests broke out in anger at chaotic efforts to change the country’s banknotes, officials and locals said. The authorities took the largest-denomination note out of circulation but failed to release the bigger bills supposed to replace it in time, leaving citizens with no way of buying food. “There is attempted looting in various parts of the country,” tweeted […]

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Mexico’s Colima volcano erupts into clear night sky

COLIMA, Mexico (Reuters) — Mexico’s Colima volcano continued with intense activity, spewing columns of gas and ash as well as incandescent material during five explosions between dusk on Tuesday (December 13) and early on Wednesday (December 14). Five overnight explosions were recorded with ash reaching between 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) to 2,000 (4,921 feet), which headed towards the west and southwest with ash falling in near-by communities, with most falling in Comala and the city […]

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Brazil Senate approves 20-year spending freeze

by Eugenia LOGIURATTO Agence France Presse BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) – Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday approved a 20-year government spending freeze billed as the centerpiece of austerity reforms aimed at restoring economic health to the troubled Latin American giant. The upper house voted 53 to 16 to lock in the spending ceiling. Center-right President Michel Temer says tough measures are needed to get Brazil’s finances back under control, but his austerity policies have prompted violent protests […]

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