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Venezuela’s Supreme Court has suspended the inauguration of three opposition MPs who were due to take office next week. The move follows legal challenges by the governing socialist party of President Nicolas Maduro. The suspension removes the opposition coalition’s super-majority which gave it extensive powers to challenge President Maduro. The opposition had called the challenge […]
(BBC) Haiti’s President Michel Martelly says the run-off election to choose his successor will be held on 17 January. The run-off was due to take place last week, but was postponed after opposition factions alleged fraud during the first round in October. A special commission was asked to investigate the electoral process following widespread street […]
(BBC) A riot at a prison in Guatemala has left at least eight inmates dead and more than 20 injured. The authorities said the inmates were drinking on New Year’s Eve when a fight broke out. At least two prisoners were beheaded by fellow inmates. Rioters set fire to mattresses and bedsheets and cut power […]
Vast areas in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil are being hit by the worst flooding in 50 years, forcing the evacuation of more than 150,000 people. Days of heavy rains brought on by the E l Nino weather phenomenon have caused three major rivers to swell, and officials report at least six deaths. A state […]
Panama’s Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of former President Ricardo Martinelli, who governed the Central American country from 2009 to 2014. Mr Martinelli is accused of using public funds to illegally spy on more than 150 prominent people. Among those he allegedly spied on are trade union activists, politicians, lawyers, doctors and business people. […]
(BBC) Colombia’s president has signed a decree fully legalising medical marijuana in a shift away from preventing drug crop production. Juan Manuel Santos said the move put Colombia “in the group of countries that are at the forefront…in the use of natural resources to fight disease”. But, he said, the country would still fight illegal […]
(Washington Post) Brazilian health authorities are sounding the alarm about a mosquito-borne virus that they believe may be the cause of thousands of infants being born with damaged brains. The pathogen, known as Zika and first discovered in forest monkeys in Africa over 70 years ago, is the new West Nile — a virus that […]
The host of the Miss Universe has apologised after mistakenly naming the wrong woman as winner, leaving Miss Colombia empty-handed. After the error, Ariadna Gutierrez was instead declared runner-up and surrendered her crown to Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. #MissUniverse2015 became Twitter’s biggest trend of the night as social media users expressed their disbelief. Ms […]
(BBC) Eduardo Li – former president of the Costa Rican Football Federation (Fedefut) – has been extradited to the US, the Swiss justice ministry says. He was handed over to the US police in Zurich and then flown to New York. Mr Li is one of seven officials with Fifa, world football’s governing body, who […]
(BBC) A federal judge in Brazil has blocked the assets of mining giants BHP Billiton and Vale in the country over the deadly collapse of a dam. The joint-venture company they own, Samarco, does not have enough resources to cover the potential damages, estimated at 20.2bn reais ($5.2bn; £3.4bn), the judge ruled. Samarco owned the […]
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