South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Verónica Verdino, an Argentine doctor, helped a therapist insert a tube into the trachea of a COVID-19 patient during another hectic day in a hospital emergency room.

Verdino, 31, has become adept at the delicate procedure during the current outbreak of coronavirus cases that has filled clinics in Buenos Aires and nearby towns with patients.

BRASILIA, May 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro rode at the head of a large motorbike rally by his supporters on Sunday amid harsh criticism over his management of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazil is one of the worst hit countries in the world by the pandemic having suffered 420,000 deaths.

Surrounded by security guards, Bolsonaro led hundreds of motorcyclists riding from the presidential palace in the capital Brasilia for a one-hour trip around the centre of town to mark Mother’s Day.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Preliminary data released Friday signaled deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon in April was the highest for that month in at least five years, a report that comes two weeks after Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said his government would dedicate more energy and resources toward curbing deforestation.

Deforestation rose 43% over the same month in 2020, to 581 square kilometers (224 square miles), according to the government’s Deter monitoring system, which provides daily deforestation alerts based on satellite images.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A bloody, hourslong gunbattle in a Rio de Janeiro slum echoed into Friday, with authorities saying the police mission successfully eliminated two dozen criminals, while residents and activists claimed human rights abuses.

It was just after sunrise Thursday when dozens of officers from Rio de Janeiro state’s civil police stormed Jacarezinho, a working-class favela in the city’s northern zone. They were targeting drug traffickers from one of Brazil’s most notorious criminal organizations, Comando Vermelho, and the bodies piled up quickly.

LIMA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru President Francisco Sagasti announced a fresh deal with Pfizer Inc and BioNTech to purchase an additional 12 million doses of their vaccine against COVID-19 as a fierce second wave of the virus ravages the country.

The president said on social media the additional shots would be delivered by year’s end.

Peru’s vaccination drive has been slow to get started and fraught with allegations of corruption, with just under 4 per cent of the population inoculated with at least one dose to date.

CALI (Colombia), May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The international community on Tuesday decried what the UN described as an “excessive use of force” by security officers in Colombia after numerous deaths during days of anti-government protests.

The United Nations, United States, European Union and rights bodies joined a chorus of criticism after official data showed 19 people were killed and 846 injured in running clashes with the security forces.

Colombia’s human rights ombudsman — a state agency independent from the government — said 89 people were listed as “disappeared.”

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 3. /TASS/: President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro extended appreciation to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the release of Robson Oliveira, the driver of ex-player of Spartak Moscow football club Fernando.

"Robson spent two years in custody in Russia and today we extend appreciation to President Vladimir Putin, the Russian ambassador in Brazil and our ambassador in Russia," Bolsonaro said in the video address posted on his page in Twitter.

"The release of Robson was announced today after lengthy talks with the Russian government," he noted.

BOGOTA, May 2. /TASS/: Colombian President Ivan Duque has ordered to bring troops to those cities where protest rallies against tax reform accompanied by vandalism and public order violations continue.

"The factor of military presence will be in effect in those cities where a great risk for lives of citizens exists," he said in a video address published on his administration’s Twitter page on Saturday.

The president stressed that the servicemen "are trained to work in urban conditions and will provide support to police."

SAO PAULO, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Brazil began the month of May reporting 2,656 deaths from COVID-19 as well as 66,964 new cases, rasing the national death toll to 406,437 and the total caseload to 14,725,975, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

The daily average number of deaths in the last seven days was 2,421, while the figure for April was higher than 3,000, according to the ministry.

SANTIAGO, May 1 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chilean and human rights organizations together with former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón filed an accusation before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague against President Sebastián Piñera for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the 2019 protests, it was reported.