South America

Smoke from Brazil Amazon rainforest fires suffocates Manaus

MANAUS (Brazil), Oct 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Manaus, the largest city in Brazil’s Amazonas state, has for days been engulfed by a toxic cloud of smoke from forest fires lit by what the government labeled “criminals”.

The city of nearly two million people has been forced to cancel some public events including a marathon.

The fires in the Amazon have produced a blanket of grey smoke over the capital of the northern state of Amazonas since Wednesday.

Air quality in the city is among the worst in the world, according to the World Air Quality Index.

Evolving crisis fuels anxiety among Venezuelans who want a better economy but see worsening woes

SAN JOAQUIN, Venezuela (AP) — The avocado trees across the road from Jose Hernandez’s tin-roofed home help feed several retirees in the rural community of San Joaquin along a highway two hours southwest of Venezuela’s capital.

He and his neighbors cut the avocados with the owner’s permission and sell them to motorists at a nearby toll booth or on the streets of the nearby city of Valencia, which has not emptied out as much as San Joaquin from migration over the last decade.

Venezuela welcomes UN resolution against unilateral sanctions: FM

CARACAS, Oct 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — Venezuela’s government welcomed a new resolution by the UN Human Rights Council condemning unilateral coercive measures (UCM) against countries.

“We celebrate that the United Nations Human Rights Council approved a new resolution condemning Unilateral Coercive Measures,” Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The resolution adopted at the 54th session of HRC is “a new victory for Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy and International Law,” Gil added.

Brazil: Pres Lula calls for world intervention in Palestinian-Israeli conflict

BRASILIA, Oct12 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on the international community to intervene to stop the situation of children who are in the line of fire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

‘It is necessary that the Hamas movement releases Israeli children who have been kidnapped from their families. Also Israel should cease bombing so that Palestinian children and their mothers leave the Gaza Strip through the border with Egypt,’ Lula wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

Ecuador extends state of emergency after prison deaths

GUAYAQUIL (Ecuador), Oct 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ecuador extended by a month a state of emergency in place since the August assassination of presidential candidate and anti-graft crusader Fernando Villavicencio, the presidency announced.

The extension comes shortly after seven Colombians arrested over Villavicencio’s killing were found dead in prison.

Six of the suspects were killed Friday in the Guayas 1 prison in the port city of Guayaquil, while a seventh was found dead Saturday in a prison in the capital Quito.

Brazil: Deforestation down in Amazon

BRASILIA, Oct 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 59 percent in September compared to the same month last year, official data showed, confirming a positive trend that began after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to power this year.

However, it hit new highs in the tropical savannah region known as the Cerrado, south of the Amazon, which has been hit by incursions from farming companies.

USA: Biden offers Israel support, faces criticism on Iran at home after Hamas attack

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden offered Israel on Saturday "all appropriate means of support" after a deadly attack from Palestinian militant group Hamas and warned "any other party hostile to Israel" not to seek advantage.

The attack from the Iran-backed Islamist group erupted amid efforts by Biden and his team to negotiate a landmark normalization agreement between foes Israel and Saudi Arabia and a U.S.-Saudi defense pact.

Six Colombians held in assassination of Ecuador presidential candidate reported slain inside prison

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Six Colombians arrested as the alleged assassins of a candidate in Ecuador’s August presidential election were slain Friday inside a prison in Guayaquil, officials announced, without providing details on what happened.

The prison authority said only that six prisoners killed inside Litoral Penitentiary were the men “charged with the murder of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.” It identified them as Jhon Gregore R., Andrés Manuel M., Adey Fernando G., Camilo Andrés R., Sules Osmini C. and José Neyder L.

Venezuela issues arrest warrant for opposition leader Guaido: prosecutor

CARACAS, Oct 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office said it had issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Juan Guaido, the first time it had taken such a step, and would ask for Interpol’s help in his apprehension.

Prosecutors were appointed “to issue an arrest warrant against him and to request a Red Notice from Interpol so that he pays for his crimes,” Prosecutor Tarek William Saab said.

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