South America

BUENOS AIRES, May 16 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina has been invited by Chinese president Xi Jinping to participate in three BRICS events taking place in the coming four weeks. The first will be a get-together of political parties, social organizations and think tanks, a second on May 20th, is a summit of foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS full members, and the Argentine minister guest. Finally, on June24 a summit of the five-plus one leaders is scheduled.

LAS BAMBAS, Peru, May 12 (Reuters) - The community of Fuerabamba in the Andean region of Peru was resettled eight years ago to make way for a giant Chinese-owned copper mine, in a $1.2 billion scheme billed as a model solution to protests dogging the South American nation's mining sector.

Now the community wants the land back.

BUENOS AIRES, May 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s health authorities are investigating 8 cases of acute hepatitis which are suspected of belonging to the new variant of unknown origin, Health Minister Carla Vizzotti confirmed.

“There is an alert about cases of hepatitis that are emerging in the world,” Vizzotti said in a radio interview.

“In Argentina, we have eight suspected cases, of which five had a positive PCR for adenovirus and the other three are being studied,” she added.

LIMA, May 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peru’s Health Ministry officials reported this week the finding of a new lineage of the SARS.CoV-2 Omicron variant called BA.1.22.

“The new BA.1.22 lineage is a product of the natural evolution of the virus in the Peruvian population and has been identified mainly in the Tacna region, but cases have already been detected in Loreto, Arequipa, Moquegua, Puno, and Lima,” the ministry said in a statement.

GEORGETOWN, May 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his Guyana counterpart Mohamed Irfaan Ali signed a series of cooperation agreements on mutual legal assistance in civil and criminal matters in Georgetown.

The two leaders also discussed trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, defense, security, and regional and global issues as well.

MONTEVIDEO, May 6 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Uruguayan lawmakers have begun this week the debate to legalize euthanasia, despite opposition from the National Party of President Luis Lacalle Pou and the Catholic Church.

The Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide bill was first introduced in 2020, but no further action was taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BOGOTA, May 6 (NNN-EFE) — Colombia’s main criminal organization, the Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan), on Thursday began a four-day “armed strike” in several provinces in protest over the extradition to the United States of its top leader, Dairo Antonio Usuga David, alias Otoniel, while police and the military are implementing a special security plan.

RIO DE JANEIRO/WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director last year told senior Brazilian officials that President Jair Bolsonaro should stop casting doubt on his country's voting system ahead of the October election, sources told Reuters.

BRASILIA, May 4 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Russia never should have invaded Ukraine, but he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is as much to blame for the war as Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with Time magazine published on Wednesday, the leftist leader also said U.S. President Joe Biden could have done more to prevent the conflict instead of inciting it.

SANTIAGO, May 4 NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Chilean companies projected the country’s inflation will be “well above normal” in the next 12 months, according to a Business Perceptions Report, released by the Central Bank of Chile yesterday.

The report, which summarises opinions from companies across the country, said, although the effect of inflation on the companies’ performance has so far been insignificant, there is a general concern about its impact on household consumption decisions, and the possible effect on the companies’ future performance.