South America

BRASILIA, Oct 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro overruled his own health minister, rejecting the announced purchase of 46 million doses of CoronaVac, a potential vaccine against COVID-19 being tested in Sao Paulo state.

Health minister Eduardo Pazuello announced the purchase on Tuesday alongside Sao Paulo’s Governor Joao Doria, a foe of Bolsonaro’s whose state government is participating in the vaccine’s development. The cost of the acquisition was estimated at 2 billion Brazilian reals.

SAO PAULO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday inaugurated the assembly phase of a reactor developed for the country's first nuclear-powered submarine, the Alvaro Alberto.

"We are proud to have this cutting-edge technology. We even have cutting-edge technology other countries do not have," Bolsonaro said during a visit to the navy's Nuclear Power Generation Laboratory (Labgene) in the city of Ipero in southeast Sao Paulo state.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wasting no time, the Senate is on track to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by next Monday, charging toward a rare weekend session as Republicans push past procedural steps to install President Donald Trump’s pick before Election Day.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia appeared Monday to be shifting sharply away from the conservative policies of the U.S.-backed interim government that took power last year after leftist President Evo Morales resigned, with the self-exiled leader’s party claiming victory in a weekend presidential election.

The leading rival of Morales’s handpicked successor, Luis Arce, conceded defeat as did interim President Jeanine Áñez, a bitter foe of Morales.

USHUAIA, Argentina (AP) — At the edge of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sitting far from the South American nation’s bustling capital, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able to contain a small outbreak among foreigners hoping to catch boats to the Antarctic at the start of the crisis.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Evo Morales’ party claimed victory in Bolivia’s presidential election as official results trickled in from Sunday’s high-stakes redo of last year’s annulled ballot that saw the leftist leader resign and flee the country.

More than nine hours after polls closed, barely 6% of all ballot boxes had been counted and they showed Morales’ handpicked successor, Luis Arce, trailing a conservative rival.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 18 (NNN-CMA) – Brazil registered 461 new deaths from COVID-19, in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 153,675, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry said that 24,062 more cases were registered, bringing the nationwide count to 5,224,362.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, has been the most affected by the disease, with 1,062,634 cases and 37,992 deaths, followed by Rio de Janeiro, with 289,569 cases and 19,715 deaths.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivians vote Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election redo that could determine its democratic future and bring a return of socialism to the country as it struggles with a raging pandemic and protests over last year’s annulled ballot.

BRASILIA, Oct 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Brazil and Paraguay have begun the process of gradually reopening the common border, according to a joint statement released by the Brazilian and Paraguayan governments.

The border posts of Foz do Iguacu-Ciudad del Este, Ponta Pora-Pedro Juan Caballero, and Mundo Novo-Saltos del Guaira were all reopened on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden squared off, in a way, in dueling televised town halls that showcased striking differences in temperament, views on racial justice and approaches to a pandemic that has reshaped the nation.

Coming just two and a half weeks before Election Day, the events Thursday night offered crystalizing contrasts and a national, if divided, audience. But it seemed unlikely to have produced a needed moment for a president running out of time or opportunities to appeal beyond his core base.