South America

BUENOS AIRES, June 23 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Governments of Mexico and Argentina recalled their respective ambassadors in Managua, where Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is undertaking a dubious campaign towards his reelection by having his political challengers arrested.

Last week, the Organization of American States (OAS) passed a resolution condemning such practices in Nicaragua but such a decision has not endorsed Mexico and Buenos Aires, who abstained.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia reached 100,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 this week, becoming just the tenth country in the world to hit the grim milestone.

The South American nation of 50 million has been registering a growing number of daily cases since April and over the past seven days it had the world’s third-highest per capita death rate from COVID-19, according to data published by Oxford University.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Players from Chile’s squad at Copa America violated the tournament’s coronavirus protocols after a “barber” visited the players’ hotel in the Brazilian city of Cuiaba.

The Chilean soccer federation issued a statement Sunday saying it “recognizes the violation of the health bubble of the squad participating at Copa America, with the unauthorized entry of a barber who, despite his negative PCR test, should not have made contact with the players.”

The Chilean federation did not give the number or names of players involved, but said they will be fined.

CARACAS, June 18 (Reuters) - A committee of Venezuelan opposition politicians will travel to Washington and Brussels to seek support and consult its allies on their positions about an eventual lifting of sanctions, opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Friday.

Guaido told reporters that the committee traveling to the United States and Europe is the same group that has been meeting with officials from Norway in recent weeks in an attempt to establish a dialogue with President Nicolas Maduro's government, which stands accused of vote-rigging and rights violations.

LIMA, June 18 (Reuters) - A group of retired officers has suggested Peru's military should refuse to recognize socialist candidate Pedro Castillo if he is declared winner of the country's presidential election if fraud allegations are not investigated, according to a letter circulated widely on social media on Friday.

Interim president Francisco Sagasti confirmed the letter, which was posted on Twitter and Facebook, arrived at the general headquarters of the armed forces, bearing the names of at least 80 retired military personnel.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — As Brazil hurtles toward an official COVID-19 death toll of 500,000 — second-highest in the world — science is on trial inside the country and the truth is up for grabs.

With the milestone likely to be reached this weekend, Brazil’s Senate is publicly investigating how the toll got so high, focusing on why President Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government ignored opportunities to buy vaccines for months while it relentlessly pushed hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug that rigorous studies have shown to be ineffective in treating COVID-19.

(Reuters) --- In Peruvian capital Lima, fear is spreading among the city’s small but powerful urban elite about the likely election win of a little-known socialist teacher.

Pedro Castillo is poised to be named president ahead of conservative rival Keiko Fujimori. With almost all votes tallied, Castillo's lead over Fujimori is narrow but looks to be enough, though the final result could take days or even weeks as legal challenges play out.

SAO PAULO, June 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was fined $100 Saturday for violating Covid-19 containment measures in Sao Paulo state by failing to wear a face mask and provoking huge crowds at a motorcycle rally for supporters.

Thousands of roaring motorcycles took part in the “Accelerate for Christ” rally in Sao Paulo, led by the far-right president, who wore an open-faced helmet and no mask, in violation of state health regulations.

LIMA, June 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peruvian socialist candidate Pedro Castillo was close to being named the Andean country’s next president as the vote count neared an end, making a last-minute flip by right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori increasingly unlikely.

Castillo, an elementary school teacher raised in an impoverished village, was leading the count by 51,000 votes on Saturday morning, when only around 62,000 votes remained to be counted.

“We won, teacher Pedro Castillo (is) President,” tweeted his party, Free Peru, late on Friday.

SANTIAGO, June 10 (NNN-TELESUR) — Chile inaugurated Latin America’s first-ever solar thermal energy plant, a vast complex dubbed Cerro Dominador in the Atacama desert that gives a boost to the country’s quest for carbon neutrality by 2050.

In an area exceeding 700 hectares, 10,600 mirrors surround a 250-meter-high tower topped with a receiver onto which the Sun’s rays are reflected. Molten salts in the receiver absorb the heat and are then used to generate electricity – up to 110 megawatts – by means of a steam turbine.