South America

BRASILIA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Wednesday said President Jair Bolsonaro committed a crime by publicly revealing details about a sealed criminal probe, but would not recommend charging him given his immunity while in office.

The federal police's conclusion that the president committed a crime is unlikely to trouble Bolsonaro due to his immunity from prosecution. But it adds to growing institutional tensions in Brazil ahead of this year's presidential vote in which the far-right populist faces an uphill battle to be re-elected.

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez will begin an overseas tour on Tuesday including visits to Russia and China, a trip that comes amid tensions over a possible conflict in Ukraine and in the wake of a breakthrough in debt talks with the International Monetary Fund.

The center-left leader, who is battling to revive the grains producing country's economy and replenish dwindling foreign currency reserves, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Argentina's government said.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains killed at least 19 people in Brazil’s most populous state Sunday while high waters forced some 500,000 families from their homes over the weekend, authorities said.

Three people from the same family died when a landslide destroyed their house in the city of Embu das Artes, according to the municipal government, while four other people were rescued by firemen.

BOGOTA, Jan 25 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Colombian President Iván Duque announced the extension of Operation Artemisa, a scheme devised to protect Colombian seas from illegal fishing while standing up for biodiversity in national waters.

Duque launched the commencement of a new phase of Operation Artemisa during a visit to the Gorgona Natural Park on the Colombian Pacific shore. The new stage will be focused biodiversity and the threats posed to it by poachers.

BRASILIA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday that a proposed amendment to the Constitution being drafted by the government along with Congress will allow the reduction of federal and state taxes on fuel, electricity and cooking gas.

With the measure, which comes in a presidential election year, the president aims to reduce the price of basic items that have weighed heavily on Brazilian consumers and pushed inflation up to 10.06% at the end of 2021, its highest annual rate since 2015. 

24 Jan 2022; MEMO: Former Brazilian President Lula da Silva has called for supporting Palestinians' right to establish a state, Quds Press reported yesterday.

Da Silva reiterated his view that the UN should be restructured so that progress can be made regarding major issues such as "the creation of a Palestinian state." The leftist leader also called for ending America's power of veto at the UN Security Council.

 BUENOS AIRES, Jan 23 (NNN-AGENCIE) — Argentina’s bottled wine exports hit a historic high in 2021 worth $817 million, the foreign ministry reported Saturday.

The previous high was the $786 million in foreign wine sales marked in 2012.

Leading export destinations were the United States, Britain, Brazil, Canada and the Netherlands, according to the report, based on a study by the Statistical Laboratory of the National Viticulture Institute (INV).

BRASILIA, Jan 22 (NNN-XINHUA) — Brazil reported 166,539 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the third consecutive day on which the country registered more than 160,000 cases, the National Council of Health Secretaries said.

The new cases have brought the nationwide tally to 23,751,782, it said.

Meanwhile, the country registered 358 deaths in the past day, taking the national death toll to 622,563, it said, adding the released figures did not include those from the state of Ceara.

RAPOSA SERRA DO SOL INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil (AP) — The mining encampment that stretches across a mountainside in Brazil’s Amazon is dotted with plastic tarpaulin covers. Under them, dozens of men toil in rocky pits, excavating sacks of ore to be transported by truck. Gold will be extracted from the ore.

SANTIAGO, Jan 17 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Chile, for the second consecutive day, registered a record number of daily COVID-19 cases, after reporting 9,454 infections in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

Cases from the past seven days rose 144 percent from the previous week, and cases from the past 14 days increased 249 percent compared to the previous two weeks.