South America

BRASILIA, May 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian states on Tuesday suspended immunization of pregnant women with the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on the advice of the national health regulator after a reported death.

The suspension was to remain in place until the health ministry establishes the cause of death of a woman in Rio de Janeiro who received the vaccine, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga told a news conference.

Queiroga said the call was made by a team of experts and was based “exclusively on technical criteria.”

12 May 2021; MEMO: Organisations from across Latin America have come together to "strongly condemn brutal Zionist terrorism and the ongoing Israeli atrocities against believers and protesters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound", they said in a statement.

BOGOTA, May 11 (NNN-Xinhua) — Colombian President Ivan Duque warned that protests could lead to a rise in COVID-19 cases, shortly before sitting down to talks with members of the National Strike Committee in a bid to end days of chaos.

“We have seen an increase in movement in many parts of the country, with much interaction between citizens in recent days amid a third peak (in infections), and I must send the message that we must all take care of ourselves,” Duque said at the government headquarters.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Verónica Verdino, an Argentine doctor, helped a therapist insert a tube into the trachea of a COVID-19 patient during another hectic day in a hospital emergency room.

Verdino, 31, has become adept at the delicate procedure during the current outbreak of coronavirus cases that has filled clinics in Buenos Aires and nearby towns with patients.

BRASILIA, May 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro rode at the head of a large motorbike rally by his supporters on Sunday amid harsh criticism over his management of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brazil is one of the worst hit countries in the world by the pandemic having suffered 420,000 deaths.

Surrounded by security guards, Bolsonaro led hundreds of motorcyclists riding from the presidential palace in the capital Brasilia for a one-hour trip around the centre of town to mark Mother’s Day.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Preliminary data released Friday signaled deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon in April was the highest for that month in at least five years, a report that comes two weeks after Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said his government would dedicate more energy and resources toward curbing deforestation.

Deforestation rose 43% over the same month in 2020, to 581 square kilometers (224 square miles), according to the government’s Deter monitoring system, which provides daily deforestation alerts based on satellite images.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A bloody, hourslong gunbattle in a Rio de Janeiro slum echoed into Friday, with authorities saying the police mission successfully eliminated two dozen criminals, while residents and activists claimed human rights abuses.

It was just after sunrise Thursday when dozens of officers from Rio de Janeiro state’s civil police stormed Jacarezinho, a working-class favela in the city’s northern zone. They were targeting drug traffickers from one of Brazil’s most notorious criminal organizations, Comando Vermelho, and the bodies piled up quickly.

LIMA, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru President Francisco Sagasti announced a fresh deal with Pfizer Inc and BioNTech to purchase an additional 12 million doses of their vaccine against COVID-19 as a fierce second wave of the virus ravages the country.

The president said on social media the additional shots would be delivered by year’s end.

Peru’s vaccination drive has been slow to get started and fraught with allegations of corruption, with just under 4 per cent of the population inoculated with at least one dose to date.

CALI (Colombia), May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The international community on Tuesday decried what the UN described as an “excessive use of force” by security officers in Colombia after numerous deaths during days of anti-government protests.

The United Nations, United States, European Union and rights bodies joined a chorus of criticism after official data showed 19 people were killed and 846 injured in running clashes with the security forces.

Colombia’s human rights ombudsman — a state agency independent from the government — said 89 people were listed as “disappeared.”

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 3. /TASS/: President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro extended appreciation to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the release of Robson Oliveira, the driver of ex-player of Spartak Moscow football club Fernando.

"Robson spent two years in custody in Russia and today we extend appreciation to President Vladimir Putin, the Russian ambassador in Brazil and our ambassador in Russia," Bolsonaro said in the video address posted on his page in Twitter.

"The release of Robson was announced today after lengthy talks with the Russian government," he noted.