South America

CARACAS, July 26. /TASS/: The Constitutional Chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court has overturned the decision of the country's parliament to rejoin the Inter-American Treaty on Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty).

"The court rules the decision of the legislature to rejoin the Inter-American Treaty on Reciprocal Assistance is null and does not have any legal force as it threatens the rule of law in the country," judge Juan Jose Mendoza said at a session broadcast on Twitter.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 26. /TASS/: The implementation of US plans to deploy missile defense systems in space will lead to another stage in an arms race, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday at the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries.

27 July 2019; DW: Across Colombia, protesters carried photos of murdered activists and signs reading: "No more bloodshed." Over 400 people have been killed in an alarming wave of violence since the 2016 peace deal was signed.

Thousands of people took to the streets across Colombia on Friday night to urge for an end to the killings of hundreds of human rights activists and social leaders by armed groups in the wake of the country's 2016 peace deal.

26 July 2019; DW: On January 25, a dam operated by mining company Vale burst in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, killing 270 people. To this day, emergency services are still searching for human remains.

At Bravo commando post, investigators wait for the arrival of newly discovered human remains. It is here that the search for victims of the Brumadinho dam collapse, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, is being coordinated.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23. /TASS/: A total of 900 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes was delivered to Venezuela and distributed across the country, representative of opposition leader Juan Guaido and coordinator for international humanitarian aid Lester Toledo said on Monday.

Tehran, July 23, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that US foreign policy has been designed by B-Team escalating tension and targeting Iran with terrorism putting at risk livelihood of Iranian families in total disregard of the United Nations Charter.

23 July 2019; DW: It was a busy day for the president, who stripped the drug policy council of independent members and legalized dozens of agritoxins. Jair Bolsonaro wants tighter control of Brazil's deforestation data.

President Jair Bolsonaro wants tighter control of government data on deforestation. He spoke just days after accusing Brazil's space agency, the INPE, of falsifying data.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The lights went out across much of Venezuela, reviving fears of the blackouts that plunged the country into chaos a few months ago as the government once again accused opponents of sabotaging the nation’s hydroelectric power system.

The power in the capital went out after 4 p.m. (2000 GMT) Monday and immediately backed up traffic as stop lights and the subway stopped working during rush hour. As night fell in Caracas many were wondering how long they would be left in the dark.

CARACAS, July 21. /TASS/: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Sunday that the topic of top-level contacts between Russia and Venezuela was discussed at consultations in Caracas.

"We discussed the schedule of future contacts. The topic of top-level contacts was discussed as well," Ryabkov told reporters when asked  about whether Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s possible visit to Russia was considered. The Russian diplomat said that it is too early to speak about concrete agreements or dates.

Tehran, July 21, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro reviewed bilateral relations and issues of mutual interests.

Zarif arrived in Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela on Saturday to attend Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) foreign ministers' meeting.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Zarif is scheduled to hold talks with Venezuelan officials including Foreign Minister and speaker of Venezuela's parliament.