Latin America

• Monday, September 2nd 2019 - 08:39 UTC

  Francis stamps his legacy: names 13 new “progressive on social issues” cardinals

  

  Pope Francis appointed 13 new cardinals in a surprise move on Sunday, again putting his stamp on the future of a Church he wants to be more open as most of those named are considered progressive on social issues.

• Saturday, August 31st 2019 - 09:40 UTC

  Colombia sends “clear message” to dissident FARC: in a raid nine narco-terrorists are killed

  

  Colombian troops killed nine FARC dissidents in a raid on Friday in what the president said was “a clear message” to their leaders who have formally rejected a 2016 peace agreement and announced a return to arms. President Ivan Duque said he had authorized the military operation in rural areas of Colombia's south.

• Friday, August 30th 2019 - 09:53 UTC

  Colombian guerrilla leaders criticize the peace accord and return to the jungle to resume fighting

  

  A former senior commander of the dissolved FARC rebel army in Colombia announced on Thursday he is taking up arms again along with other guerrillas who have distanced themselves from a historic peace accord signed with the government.

• Friday, August 30th 2019 - 09:07 UTC

  Mexican president claims he was spied with a “sophisticated camera”, but downplays the situation, “I have nothing to hide”

  

  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday a “sophisticated camera” had been found in his offices, but added that he was unconcerned because he has nothing to hide.

• Friday, August 30th 2019 - 07:40 UTC

  Central America suffering the worst outbreak of dengue fever in decades

  

  Central America is grappling with its worst outbreak of dengue fever in decades - and scientists say the disease is likely to spread and become more frequent in the future due to climate change.

• Thursday, August 29th 2019 - 19:00 UTC

  Ivanka Trump will be visiting Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay

  

  United States Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan will travel with Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump to Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay September 3-6.

• Thursday, August 29th 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Bolsonaro will join with other Amazon countries to set a common policy to protect the rainforest

  

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday he would meet with other South American countries to set common policy for defending the Amazon rain forest, while his foreign minister said Brazil should be seen as an environmental hero.

• Thursday, August 29th 2019 - 09:42 UTC

  Bolivia admits fires have destroyed 1.2m hectares of forest; ecologists demand an end to bill promoting pastures

  

  Fires have destroyed 1.2 million hectares of forest and grasslands in Bolivia this year, the government said on Wednesday, though environmentalists claim the true figure is much greater.

• Wednesday, August 28th 2019 - 09:56 UTC

  Insufficient rainfall forecasted as Brazil's Amazon dry season end approaches

  

  Weak rainfall is unlikely to extinguish a record number of fires raging in Brazil's Amazon anytime soon, with pockets of precipitation through to Sept 10 expected to bring only isolated relief, according to weather data and two experts.

• Wednesday, August 28th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Amazon fires a “tipping point” for the health of rainforests, warns tropical forests organization

  

  The fires tearing through the Amazon represent a “tipping point” for the health of the rainforest, the head of a top global forestry management body said on Wednesday, urging the world to do more to save the trees.