South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 30 (Reuters) - Washington should make it clear to the "messianic" Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that any effort to undermine his country's elections would trigger multilateral sanctions, a newly retired U.S. State Department official wrote on Saturday.

CARACAS, April 30 (NNN-TELESUR) — Venezuela and Turkey signed on Friday eight new agreements in the framework of the third Joint Cooperation Commission between the two nations, which was held in Caracas, said the Vice President of Economy and Minister of Petroleum of this South American nation, Tareck El Aissami

QUITO, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency for 60 days starting from Friday in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas and Manabi, which have been plagued by delinquency and criminality related to drug trafficking.

Lasso announced the measure on Friday in a message broadcast live by the General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency through its official internet channels.

LIMA, April 28 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peru’s Health Ministry (Minsa) issued an epidemiological alert in light of the growing number of Influenza A (H3N2) cases in Ayacucho, Piura, and Lima.

With the Ministry’s declaration, additional sanitary measures regarding detection and control of the disease can be implemented by the affected jurisdictions.

The authorities decided on the declaration after 22 cases of this virus and one death were reported in a Peruvian Army unit in South Lima, coupled with an increasing number of acute respiratory infections (ARI).

BRASILIA, April 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is studying the creation of a new social security system for mobile app workers, especially for delivery and transportation services, Labor Minister Jose Carlos Oliveira said on Wednesday.

Technology companies and gig workers would contribute to the new welfare system, which will be proposed as legislation before the end of this year, the minister told reporters.

BOGOTA, April 27 (Reuters) - Colombia's Liberal Party, which won more seats than any other in the lower house and the third most seats in the Senate in recent legislative elections, on Wednesday threw its weight behind center-right presidential candidate Federico Gutierrez.

Party alliances could help push candidates over the line in the May 29 contest and are likely to affect the eventual winner's ability to push through legislation when their term starts in August.

BRASILIA, April 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's Defense Minister joined a feud between the country's Supreme Court and his boss, right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, disputing statements by a Supreme Court judge who said the Armed Forces were being encouraged to discredit the country's voting system.

MONTEVIDEO, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of Uruguay and Turkey agreed here on Saturday to begin negotiations toward a bilateral free trade agreement.

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu "agreed on the need to strengthen bilateral trade ties through agreements that generate better market access conditions for exports" for both countries, Uruguay's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

SANTIAGO, April 21 (Reuters) - Chile's constitutional assembly will start debating dozens of articles on Thursday regarding mining, water and environmental rights that could reshape how the world's top copper producer regulates production of the red metal and minerals like lithium.

The debate will start at 12 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) over 52 articles including protecting water sources, glaciers and wetlands before voting later today and on Friday. The proposals overall establish stricter environmental regulation for mining.

BUENOS AIRES, Apr 20 (NNN-TELAM) – Argentina condemned Britain’s military exercises in the area of the Malvinas Islands, a territory in the South Atlantic, that the South American country claims as its own, but is now controlled by Britain.