MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Stories for June 19th 2026
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 17:44 UTC
Peru's Sánchez calls a protest against the result that makes Fujimori the virtual winner
Left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez called a protest in Lima for Friday against the result of Peru's presidential runoff, which makes right-wing Keiko Fujimori the virtual winner, as the electoral justice was due to decide on the challenges filed by his party. With 99.51% of the tally sheets counted, Fujimori leads Sánchez by some 44,101 votes, though no winner has yet been proclaimed.
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 17:34 UTC
Trump opens a new rift with Meloni by claiming she 'begged' him for a G7 photo
US President Donald Trump opened a new rift with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by claiming that she “begged” him for a photo during the G7 summit and that he obliged out of “pity.” Meloni called the account fabricated, and in response Italy's foreign minister canceled a planned trip to the United States this weekend.
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 10:47 UTC
De la Espriella leads Colombia's runoff with contained triumphalism as Cepeda hopes for a late surge
Right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella heads into Colombia's presidential runoff, set for this Sunday, June 21, as the favorite, though with contained triumphalism, while left-wing senator Iván Cepeda trusts that a late push can still overturn the result. Both campaigns sense the election is closer than the polls reflect.
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 07:11 UTC
Ukraine launches its largest drone attack on Moscow, striking an oil refinery
Ukraine on Thursday launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, hitting the capital's oil refinery in the Kapotnya district, covering the city in black smoke and forcing the closure of its four airports. It was the second strike on that facility —run by a subsidiary of state-owned Gazprom— in a week.
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 06:49 UTC
US-backed opposition figure Figuera returns to Venezuela to negotiate a 'credible' electoral body
Opposition figure Dinorah Figuera, president of the National Assembly elected in 2015 and exiled in Spain for nearly eight years, returned to Venezuela on Thursday at the invitation of the US State Department to negotiate a “credible” electoral authority with Delcy Rodríguez's interim government. The return is part of Washington's plan for a democratic transition in the country.
