South America

Rio de Janeiro, Sep 7 (AP/PTI) Suellen de Souza could no longer endure the confinement. After six months of precautions, the Brazilian nursing technician decided that Sunday would be her first day at the beach since the pandemic began.

"This week it was very hot... the truth is I really wanted to come" to the beach, said the 21-year-old at Rio de Janeiro's Ipanema beach, which is technically still closed to sun-bathers though few respect the prohibition and authorities seldom enforce it.

CARACAS, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela is to request the extradition of four citizens recently captured in Colombia who have been accused of involvement in a coup attempt, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Friday.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Critics of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are again speaking out against the leader’s stance on the coronavirus pandemic, this time rejecting his view that vaccination for the virus shouldn’t be mandatory.

Bolsonaro’s first such comments came Monday, when he told a supporter, “No one can force anyone to get a vaccine.” He repeated it Thursday night during a live broadcast on Facebook, adding his opposition to administering vaccines that are yet to be proven on Brazilian soil.

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – For Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but there are challenges ahead, the city’s top health official said.

“The worst is already over … but we still have many cases per day,” Buenos Aires Health Minister, Fernan Quiros, told the press. “We need to really maintain the people’s focus on compliance with regulations, and the focus on tracking, testing and isolation strategy.”

CARACAS, Sept 1 (NNN-XINHUA) – Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, on Monday pardoned over 100 political opposition leaders, who are serving sentences or face criminal charges, ahead of the Dec 6, parliamentary elections.

Communication and Information Minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said, the move aimed to “promote peaceful coexistence and the resolution of controversies through constitutional, electoral and peaceful channels.”

A total of 27 deputies from different political parties with pending legal proceedings are among the pardoned.

SAO PAULO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Brazil on Monday said its COVID-19 death toll surpassed 121,000 deaths after 553 more patients died in the previous 24 hours, which took the total number of fatalities to 121,381.

In the same 24-hour period, tests detected 45,961 new cases of infection, pushing the total caseload to 3,908,272, according to the Ministry of Health.

On a positive note, Brazil saw its fifth consecutive day of less than 1,000 fatalities from the novel coronavirus.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil’s High Court of Justice removed Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel from office Friday, as police raided his official residence in a probe into accusations he stole emergency funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The raids also targeted the far-right governor’s wife and inner circle. Among those arrested was Pastor Everaldo, an evangelical preacher and leader of Witzel’s Christian Social Party (PSC).

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A family held hostage by drug traffickers. A violent police shootout on a busy street. A mother killed while shielding her three-year-old daughter from gunfire.

Even for residents accustomed to violence, the last 24 hours have been grim in Rio de Janeiro, as a series of shootouts broke out across the city among warring criminal gangs and police.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan security forces and authorities under President Nicolás Maduro have used the coronavirus as an excuse to crack down on dissenting voices on social media and even in private messages, Human Rights Watch reported Friday.

The New York-based rights group said Venezuelan authorities have targeted dozens of journalists, healthcare workers, human rights lawyers and political opponents critical of the government’s response to the pandemic.

Lima, Aug 23 (AP) Thirteen people died in a stampede at a disco in Peru after a police raid to enforce the country's lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Sunday.

The stampede happened at the Thomas disco in Lima, where about 120 people had gathered for a party on Saturday night, the Interior Ministry said.

People tried to escape through a door, trampling one another and becoming trapped in the confined space, according to authorities.