Latin America

• Friday, January 10th 2020 - 09:59 UTC

  International Contact Group on Venezuela support Guaido's reelection, except Uruguay

  

  A dozen countries working on ways to end Venezuela's crisis on Thursday gave their backing to opposition leader Juan Guaido as a parliamentary speaker, rejecting the claims of a rival.

• Friday, January 10th 2020 - 09:58 UTC

  Mexico grants political asylum to members of Ecuadorean opposition holed in its Quito embassy

  

  Mexico granted political asylum on Thursday to four members of Ecuador's opposition holed up in its embassy in Quito since widespread social unrest in October, the foreign ministry said. The four lawmakers, including former Congress speaker Gabriela Rivadeneira, “took a commercial flight to Mexico” early Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.

• Friday, January 10th 2020 - 09:53 UTC

  Mercosur summit in Paraguay will address a review of the external tariff

  

  The upcoming Summit of Heads of State of the Southern Common Market Mercosur, to be held in late June or early July this year, will be held in Encarnacion, capital of Itapúa Department, Paraguay.

• Friday, January 10th 2020 - 09:15 UTC

  One of Mexico's most dangerous volcanoes belched ash and rock into the sky

  

  Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano dramatically spewed a fiery cloud of ash and rock into the sky on Thursday, though it did not prompt authorities to raise their eruption alert level.

• Thursday, January 9th 2020 - 09:45 UTC

  Walmart confirms it is the largest retailer in Mexico; last year it opened 134 new stores

  

  Walmart last year launched its biggest expansion in Mexico since 2013, opening 134 new stores in its top foreign market and boosting its presence by nearly five percent, the retailer said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:55 UTC

  Guaidó sworn as Venezuelan Assembly speaker for another term, despite Maduro's forces, goons and blackout

  

  Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido was sworn in for another term as speaker of parliament on Tuesday after a tense stand-off with the armed forces who initially prevented him from entering Congress.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:46 UTC

  Chilean activity down and poor prospects for this year, following weeks of social unrest

  

  Economic activity in Chile dropped 3.3% in November, led by a slump in mining activity, the central bank has said, and officials predicted low growth for the coming year as the country reels from anti-government unrest. The prediction is based on Chile’s economic activity index or IMACEC (Indicador Mensual de Actividad Economica).

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:45 UTC

  Argentina will begin distribution of food cards to low income families later this month

  

  Argentina's government will begin to distribute food cards to low-income families beginning later this month as part of its anti-hunger program. Social Development Minister Daniel Arroyo announced during a live presentation of Argentine Plan Against Hunger the government reached an agreement with the Governor Jorge Capitanich from the northern province of Chaco to fight with hunger.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:40 UTC

  Guaidó's ambassador has her diplomatic credentials withdrawn by Argentine government

  

  In a blow to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, Argentina's government said on Tuesday it did not recognize him as his nation's interim president and had revoked the credentials of his representative in Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:23 UTC

  Australian bushfires smoke reaches Uruguay and the South of Brazil

  

  Smoke from bushfires raging across Australia reached Brazil on Tuesday, an arm of the National Institute for Space Research said on Twitter. Referring to satellite images, the agency's Department of Remote Sensing said the smoke had arrived in Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul.