Latin America

• Monday, July 29th 2019 - 13:22 UTC

  Bernal, 22, becomes the first Colombian to win the Tour de France

  

  Egan Bernal clinched victory in the Tour de France on Sunday, parading into Paris safely in the overall leader's yellow jersey, becoming the first Colombian winner of cycling's greatest prize and its youngest in more than a century.

• Monday, July 29th 2019 - 11:58 UTC

  Brazil gold miners invade remote reserve in the Amazon and kill a tribal leader

  

  Heavily armed gold miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in northern Brazil and stabbed to death one of its leaders, officials say. Residents of the village in Amapá state fled in fear and there were concerns violent clashes could erupt if they tried to reclaim the gold-rich land. Police have arrived in the area.

• Monday, July 29th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Peruvian president offers to cut short his term and call for fresh elections to overcome the “institutional crisis”

  

  Peru's President Martin Vizcarra on Sunday offered to cut short his term and hold elections to end what he called an institutional crisis. He said in a speech to Congress this would also involve shortening the term of the legislature. As it stands, general elections are scheduled for July of next year.

• Monday, July 29th 2019 - 09:28 UTC

  Mexico will help Honduras create 20.000 jobs planting trees

  

  A scheme to create 20,000 jobs in Honduras has been agreed between the country's president and Mexico's leader in an attempt to stem the flow of migrants toward the United States.

• Monday, July 29th 2019 - 09:22 UTC

  Maduro says Venezuela is open to receive Colombian ex FARC leaders

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday said two former FARC commanders from neighboring Colombia whose whereabouts are unknown were “welcome in Venezuela,” a statement likely to fuel criticism that he is providing a safe haven for armed groups.

• Monday, July 29th 2019 - 09:02 UTC

  Cuban officials at funeral of Havana's Cardinal Ortega who reinstated working relations between Church and the regime

  

  Cuban government and Communist Party officials attended funeral services for Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega on Sunday in a testament to his success in elevating the Church's position on the Caribbean island after the fall of the Soviet Union.

• Saturday, July 27th 2019 - 09:56 UTC

  Maduro's Supreme Court annuls decision to rejoin regional defense treaty

  

  Venezuela's Supreme Court on Friday annulled a decision by the opposition-controlled legislature to re-join a regional defense treaty that could provide a legal framework for foreign military intervention.

• Saturday, July 27th 2019 - 09:46 UTC

  Caribbean tourists warned of the toxicity of Sargassum on the beaches

  

  Tourists to the Caribbean may not realize that a brown drifting seaweed that's been piling up on beaches in recent years is dangerous, researchers say. Travelers and doctors alike should be aware that prolonged contact with the Sargassum weed, or inhaling the hydrogen sulfide gas it gives off as it decomposes on the beach, can cause heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, vertigo, headache and skin rashes, the authors write in the Journal of Travel Medicine.

• Saturday, July 27th 2019 - 09:33 UTC

  Guatemala caves in and signs migration agreement with the US

  

  The US and Guatemala have signed a migration agreement, days after US President Donald Trump threatened the Central American country with tariffs. Under the deal, migrants from Honduras and El Salvador who pass through Guatemala would be required to stop and seek asylum there first. Migrants who failed to do so would then be ineligible for asylum in the US.

• Wednesday, July 24th 2019 - 09:16 UTC

  Mystery brain illness of US and Canada embassy staff in Havana remains unsolved

  

  Advanced brain scans of U.S. Embassy employees who reported falling ill while serving in Havana revealed significant differences from a control group, according to a new study published on Tuesday.