South America

BOGOTA, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands of people took to the streets in several cities across Colombia in fresh protests against President Ivan Duque.

Dozens of people have been killed in protests that erupted around the country on April 28, initially against a tax hike that would have mostly affected the middle classes, but which have morphed into a major anti-government movement.

(Reuters) --- Peruvian socialist Pedro Castillo was holding on to a slim lead in the deeply divided country's presidential election on Wednesday with almost all votes processed, though with a gap of just 70,000, contested ballots could still be decisive.

Castillo, the son of illiterate farmers who has rattled the Andean nation's political elite and garnered huge support from the rural poor, had 50.2% with 99.8% of votes processed, just 0.4% percentage point ahead of right-wing rival Keiko Fujimori.

BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — An international monitoring group on Wednesday accused police officers in Colombia of responsibility for the deaths of 20 people and other violent actions against protesters during recent civil unrest, including sexual abuse, beatings and arbitrary detentions.

MANAUS (Amazonia, Brazil), June 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Brazil’s Justice Minister Anderson Torres gave the green light for national forces to intervene in the capital city of the state of Amazonia, Manaus, which has been ransacked by acts of violence and looting over the past month.

Torres was acknowledging requests for help from local authorities after vehicles were set on fire, bank branches were destroyed, and public buildings were attacked.

State governor Wilson Lima said he had asked the federal government for help as the situation had gone out of control.

BOGOTA, June 7 (NNN-TELESUR) — Colombia’s Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) reported the assassination of Jose Alonso, a social leader from Tulua in the Valle del Cauca Department.

The 56-year-old Alonso was a signatory of the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian state and the then Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The social leader was killed in La Moralia by a group of armed men while he was on his way to the Naranjal area.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The daughter of an imprisoned former president was leading the race for Peru’s presidency late Sunday, hours after polls closed in a runoff election held as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the Andean country.

With 42% of votes tallied, conservative Keiko Fujimori had 52.9% of the vote, while rural teacher-turned-political novice Pedro Castillo had 47%, according to official results. This is Fujimori’s third run for president, a role her father held in the 1990s.

CONSTITUCION, Chile, Jun 6 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – An earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.4, jolted 159 km west-northwest of Constitucion, Chile, at 03:05 GMT yesterday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicentre, with a depth of 9.57 km, was initially determined to be at 34.8649 degrees south latitude, and 74.0704 degrees west longitude.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian voters will choose between two polarizing populist candidates Sunday in a presidential runoff held as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the Andean country and festering anger has led to fears of more political stability.

SAO PAULO, Jun 3 (NNN-CMA) – Brazil reported 2,408 more deaths from COVID-19, taking the nationwide tally to 465,199, the Ministry of Health said.

A total of 78,926 new infections were detected, raising the caseload to 16,624,480, the ministry said.

Brazil has the world’s second highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest caseload, behind the United States and India.

The South American country is experiencing a new wave of infections, with hospitals overwhelmed by patients.

SANTIAGO, Jun 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Chile’s unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent over the Feb to Apr three-month period, marking an annual increase of 1.2 percentage points, as a result of pandemic lockdown measures, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) said yesterday.

According to the INE’s latest National Employment Survey, unemployment during the period was due to a 0.2 percent decrease in the workforce.