South America

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brandishing a fake gun, a man on Tuesday took dozens of hostages on a bus in Brazil and threatened to set the vehicle on fire with gasoline before police shot him dead in a four-hour standoff on Latin America’s longest bridge.

All the hostages were freed unharmed on a 13-kilometer (8-mile) bridge that offers a sweeping view of Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The panoramic setting where the man made his move seemed to reflect a bid for maximum publicity in a spot with virtually no chance of escape.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The U.S. has made secret contact with Venezuela’s socialist party boss as close allies of President Nicolás Maduro’s inner circle seek guarantees they won’t face prosecution for alleged abuses and crimes if they cede to growing demands to remove him, according to a senior Trump administration official.

18 August 2019; DW: Hundreds of women have taken part in a demonstration in Peru's capital, Lima, to draw attention to the problem of gender violence in the country. Peru has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the region.

BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Argentine Finance Minister Nicolas Dujovne, who did not support the president's measures for dealing with the economic turmoil troubling the country, stepped down on Saturday.

In his resignation letter to President Mauricio Macri on Saturday, Dujovne said "under the present circumstances," the administration "needs a significant renewal in the economic area."

CARACAS, Aug 18 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The Venezuelan government is currently implementing new strategies to boost domestic food production and guarantee the Local Committees for Supply and Production (CLAP) as a means to face the economic and financial blockade imposed by the United States.

CLAPs, which include the distribution of food bags and boxes for those in need, is currently supplied with 60% of domestic products, according to official sources.

CARACAS, August 16. /TASS/: Russia and China have offered to help Venezuelan athletes to prepare for the next Summer Olympic Games, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday.

"Russia and China have offered us special help in training," Maduro said at a meeting with young athletes that was broadcast on Twitter.

He said that "many athletes" will be able to go to Russia and China for training. "I am confident that we will show our best results in history at the Tokyo Olympics," Maduro noted.

16 August 2019; AFP: American consumers appear to be carrying the US economy in their shopping carts as manufacturing slumps amid President Donald Trump's trade conflict with China, and financial signals warn of a possible recession.

"The economy is phenomenal," Trump said Thursday. "We had a couple of bad days but we are going to have some very good days because we had to take on China."

16 August 2019; DW: Brazil's economy minister has said the country could leave the trade bloc if Argentina's opposition wins presidential elections later this year. He also questioned how dependent Brazil's economy was on Argentina.

If Argentina's center-left opposition wins the presidential elections and closes its economy with protectionist policies, Brazil will pull out of Mercosur, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday.

CARACAS, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A delegation from the Norwegian government has come to Venezuela to restart talks between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition that were halted last week after Maduro’s allies pulled out.

Maduro last week said the government would not attend a scheduled round of talks in Barbados to protest the opposition’s support for new U.S. sanctions against his government.

CARACAS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) announced on Monday that it will designate a commission to mull over a date for the next parliamentary elections.

ANC President Diosdado Cabello said the commission's aim is "to evaluate, according to the law, according to the Constitution, according to the political situation of our country, with consultations to all agencies, the people, the street as to when is the best time to hold these elections."