Latin America

• Thursday, August 20th 2020 - 10:47 UTC

  Colombia surpasses half a million Covid-19 cases and 16,000 deaths

  

  Coronavirus cases in Colombia surpassed 500,000 on Wednesday as deaths from the virus approach 16,000 and the country nears the end of five months of lockdown.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2020 - 09:54 UTC

  Latam lost US$ 890 million in the second quarter and has laid off 30% of its pre-pandemic workforce

  

  LATAM Airlines, South America's largest carrier, on Tuesday said it had laid off 12,600 employees since March - or almost 30% of its pre-coronavirus workforce - due to the pandemic that has upended the global travel industry. The company also reported a net loss of US$ 890 million for the second quarter.

• Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 09:09 UTC

  The US pledges US$ 5bn to Colombia for rural development; Duque supports US candidate for IDB

  

  The United States and Colombia will work together to bring new investment to rural areas of the country, officials said on Monday, as Colombia's president reiterated support for the U.S. candidate to lead the Inter-American Development Bank.

• Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 09:06 UTC

  Mexican corruption in Congress exposed with piles of cash changing hands

  

  An unverified video showing piles of cash being handed to Mexican congressional staffers went viral on Monday, fuelling a corruption scandal that is already convulsing the country even as the clip's source and context remain unclear.

• Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 08:52 UTC

  Peruvian economy contracts 18,06% in June year to year

  

  Peru’s economy contracted 18.06% in June versus the same period a year earlier, the government of president Martin Vizcarra said on Sunday, the fourth straight month of contraction due to the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

• Monday, August 17th 2020 - 09:53 UTC

  Latin America coronavirus cases exceed six million and continue to accelerate

  

  Coronavirus cases in Latin America, the region of the world worst-affected by the pandemic, exceed six million and continued to accelerate, according to the WHO figures, as most of its nations begin to relax lockdown measures.

• Monday, August 17th 2020 - 09:12 UTC

  Mexico besides AstraZeneca is also working with French, US and Chinese labs for a Covid-19 vaccine

  

  Mexico will need up to 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses, according to a senior government official, and inoculation of its 120 million inhabitants could start as early as April if clinical trials and regulatory approvals for pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca go as planned.

• Monday, August 17th 2020 - 08:21 UTC

  Mexican president says economy recovering jobs

  

  Mexico added back 52,455 jobs in August, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Saturday, hailing the news as a sign of recovery after the country lost more than 1 million jobs in the formal economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• Saturday, August 15th 2020 - 09:52 UTC

  Health care workers in Peru protest demanding better pay and working conditions

  

  Health care workers in Peru held a demonstration demanding better pay and working conditions as more of their colleagues become infected with the coronavirus. Members of medical workers’ unions appealed for government help during a rally outside the Health Ministry.

• Saturday, August 15th 2020 - 09:21 UTC

  US extends ban on border crossing with Canada and Mexico until September 21

  

  The US Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that a COVID-19 ban on non-essential travel through border crossings with Canada and Mexico was being extended until Sep 21.