South America

ASUNCION, Oct 7 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) – Paraguay’s Congress declared a national emergency as forest fires raged, burning vast swaths of the Chaco dry forest, home to sprawling cattle ranches, jaguars and many indigenous tribes.

The emergency declaration boosts funds for fire-fighting and opens the door to requesting international aid to tame the blazes, which have sprouted up throughout the country.

Authorities said two firefighting aircraft had arrived in the country and would douse the most heavily impacted regions.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil announced on Monday it has extended a ban on foreigners entering by land, sea or river, in a bid to contain its COVID-19 outbreak.

Arrival by air has been allowed since Sept. 25.

According to the government's official gazette, the measure effectively bars tourists from entering Brazil through its borders with Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guyana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

SANTIAGO, Oct 5 (NNN-TELESUR) — Chilean Attorney General’s Office ordered the arrest of a carabinero (Chilean police) who threw a 16-year-old boy into the Mapocho River from the PIo Nono Bridge, in Santiago, when military police were repressing a demonstration.

“The officer will face trial for the crime of attempted murder,” the North Central Prosecutor’s Office stated as it recalled that the young man attacked fell to an approximate height of seven meters.

BOGOTA, Oct 5 (NNN-TELESUR) — The Colombian Farmers’ Association (ANUC) reported a new massacre in southern Cordoba that left three people dead, including a minor.

The triple homicide occurred on the farm El Breque, municipality of San Jose de Ure, in the department of Cordoba. A group of men attacked the owner of the farm, his son, and the driver of a cattle truck.

The victims were identified as Juan Rodriguez, 30; Wilmar Lopez, 42; and Deivi Camelo, 15, who were killed with firearms, knives, and a blunt instrument.

ASUNCION, Oct 5 (NNN-TELESUR) — Paraguay’s authorities reported that fires continued to spread across the country since there were reported 7,373 hotspots in the last 24hrs.

According to the latest update published today by the National Emergency Secretary, there are hotspots in the 17 departments except for the capital district Asuncion.

The Presidente Hayes Department remains the hardest-hit by the blaze with 6,031 hotspots, followed by provinces Caazapa (433) and Alto Paraguay (247).

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 4 (NNN-CMA) – The Brazilian Ministry of Health said, the country registered another 599 deaths from COVID-19, in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 145,987.

According to the ministry, 26,310 new cases of the virus were registered over the last day, bringing the total to 4,906,833.

Brazil is the second country in the world in the number of deaths caused by COVID-19, behind the United States, and third in the world in number of cases, behind the United States and India.

LA PAZ, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- After a 10-day hunger strike, Bolivia's medical workers decided Saturday to increase pressure on the country's legislature to pass a bill to allocate 10 percent of the state budget to the health sector.

The Union of the Medical Branches of Public Health representative Fernando Romero told reporters that union members have decided to request that the Ombudsman's Office, the Department of Human Rights, and the Catholic Church become mediators between the union and the government.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 3 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s Economy Minister Martin Guzman said that a mission from the International Monetary Fund will arrive in the country next week as the country looks to negotiate a new program with the organization.

“There is a constant, constructive dialogue. This week we have been working in a virtual way together with a mission. On Tuesday a mission will be arriving,” Guzman said, speaking in a televised interview with local publication Ambito.

SANTIAGO, Oct 3 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Chilean government has begun to gradually lift restrictions in the country in an attempt to reactivate the economy, given a drop in new cases with 1,556 (the lowest rate in three months), though areas with a high level of new cases remain under quarantine.

According to the latest study published by the Catholic University of Chile, in one year 1.8 million jobs have been lost (between the civil unrest and the pandemic), and the unemployment has reached an historical rate of 12% from March to date.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday nominated a judge with a record of flexible rulings to the country’s Supreme Court, frustrating evangelical members of his conservative base who had been promised one of their own for the opening.

Bolsonaro announced his nomination of Kassio Marques on Thursday during a live broadcast on Facebook and submitted his name to the country’s official gazette on Friday. Marques, 48, little known by political heavyweights in the capital Brasilia, requires confirmation by Brazil’s Senate.