South America

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that progress has been made in their talks about a new agreement to address the South American country’s debt.

The Saturday announcement came after a meeting between Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

LA PAZ, Feb 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bolivia’s supreme electoral court disqualified exiled former president Evo Morales from running for a Senate seat in May’s general election, saying he did not meet residency requirements.

Morales is currently living in exile in Argentina having fled Bolivia in November after resigning as president following three weeks of protests at his controversial re-election.

BOGOTA, Feb 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Public school teachers in Colombia launched a two-day strike on Thursday to protest violence against the profession and killings of activists and other community leaders, leaving more than 7 million children without classes.

The teachers’ protest precedes a general strike planned for March 25. The action is part of three-month-old protests organised by unions and student groups against the social and economic policies of President Ivan Duque.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 18 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Rio de Janeiro will receive one billion reais (232 million U.S. dollars) in revenue, from the upcoming Carnival holiday, the Rio Trade Federation (Fecomercio-RJ) estimated, on Monday.

According to Fecomercio-RJ, Rio is consolidated as a cultural and entertainment destination for the Carnival period, with the local tourism agency, Riotur estimating seven million people to attend Carnival festivities all over the city.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Monday it would suspend TAP Air Portugal flights into and out of the country for 90 days, accusing the carrier of allowing opposition leader Juan Guaido’s uncle to bring explosives onto a flight to Caracas last week.

Announcing the measure on Twitter, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez left open the possibility of applying fines and other measures in the future.

“Venezuela must be respected,” Rodriguez said.

17 February 2020; AFP: Former Bolivian president Evo Morales said Sunday that he is returning to Argentina from Cuba, where he had gone for medical treatment last week.

"I feel very healthy. I am still in Cuba, but today is my return trip to Argentina," Morales said by telephone to Bolivia's Radio Kawaschum Coca (RKC) -- owned by the coca planters union to which he belongs.

Morales, 60, traveled to Cuba from Buenos Aires on Monday for medical treatment.

BRASILIA, Feb 17 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro celebrated after a crime index showed homicides fell to their lowest level in more than a decade during the first year of his term.

Brazil had 41,635 killings in 2019, down 19% from the prior year and the least number of homicides since 2007, when the so-called Violence Monitor index was launched.

It is a partnership between the non-profit Brazilian Forum of Public Security, the University of Sao Paulo’s Center for the Study of Violence, and news website G1, which published the data.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s military on Saturday held exercises that deployed civilian militia and armored vehicles in the capital Caracas and around the country, an effort by President Nicolas Maduro to show strength as Washington prepares to escalate sanctions.

Maduro accuses the United States of preparing an invasion of the OPEC nation, which in 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump described as a possibility. Since last year the United States has ramped up economic sanctions against his government.

Vatican City, Feb 15 (AFP/PTI) In quashing the idea of married priests in the Amazon, Pope Francis has appeased traditionalists while disappointing progressives who had hoped for a historic turning point in the Catholic church.

In his "apostolic exhortation" on the Amazon basin published Wednesday, Francis slammed the door on a progressive proposal offered by the region's bishops during a synod on the region in October.

MEXICO CITY/HAVANA, Feb 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuela’s state energy firm PDVSA has been shipping more oil this month to close ally Cuba, as tighter U.S. sanctions have worsened fuel shortages on the Caribbean island.

Six vessels, most of them owned by PDVSA’s maritime arm, have exported an average of 173,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude and fuel to Cuba so far this month, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and PDVSA’s documents.

At least two more cargoes are planned for the remainder of the month, according to the documents and data.