Politics

• Wednesday, August 12th 2026 - 00:05 UTC

  Colombia asks for supplies but not foreign rescue personnel after the earthquake

  

  Colombia's government has requested international aid in the form of supplies for those affected by Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake, but has not called for foreign rescue teams, despite offers from at least six countries and multilateral bodies.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:56 UTC

  Lacalle Pou's return reopens the debate over opposition leadership in Uruguay

  

  The first public appearance by former Uruguayan president Luis Lacalle Pou since leaving office, at Sunday's ceremony marking the Partido Nacional's 190th anniversary, drew contrasting readings within the governing Frente Amplio and reopened discussion of his role in the opposition.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:44 UTC

  Burnham's Labour edges ahead of Reform UK in a YouGov poll for the first time

  

  The Labour Party of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has moved ahead of Reform UK, the right-wing party led by Nigel Farage, in a voting intention survey by YouGov published on Tuesday by The Times. It is the first time this has happened in that pollster's series since Reform took the lead in early 2025.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:21 UTC

  Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity

  

  A criminal court in Damascus sentenced former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity. Assad was ousted in December 2024 and is living in exile in Moscow. It is the first public sentence handed down against the man who governed Syria for more than two decades.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 09:18 UTC

  Kast rules out backing bill that ties abortion access to hearing the fetal heartbeat

  

  Chilean President José Antonio Kast said on Monday that his government would not push forward a bill introduced by lawmakers from his own coalition that would condition access to legal abortion on a woman agreeing to hear the fetus's cardiac activity.

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 19:16 UTC

  De la Espriella gives the first earthquake toll and entrusts Colombia to Jesus Christ

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella reported 111 dead and 87 injured on Monday from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the west and center of the country, in an address containing extensive religious references. “I entrust our country to the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said after chairing a meeting of the unified command post set up at the National Disaster Risk Management Unit.

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 10:55 UTC

  Reform UK in talks with El Salvador over sending foreign prisoners to Bukele's jails

  

  Britain's Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, has opened contacts with the government of El Salvador to transfer foreign prisoners to jails in that country should it win the next United Kingdom general election, which must be held by 2029 at the latest. The report was published on Monday by the newspaper The Sun and has not been confirmed by San Salvador.

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 08:32 UTC

  De la Espriella sets ten armed group leaders as his target for his first 90 days

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has pledged to capture or kill ten leaders of illegal armed groups during the first 90 days of his term, which began on Friday in Cali. The commitment, made during his campaign, is the centerpiece of the “shock plan” with which the new president seeks to reverse the negotiation policy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro.

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:58 UTC

  Keiko Fujimori starts her term in Peru with 60% approval, Datum poll finds

  

  Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori has begun her five-year term with a 60% approval rating, against 24% disapproval and 16% who gave no opinion, according to a Datum Internacional survey published on Sunday by the newspaper El Comercio.

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:44 UTC

  Bolivia records its first same-sex civil marriage after a court ruling

  

  Bolivia has recorded its first civil marriage between two people of the same sex, held on Friday, August 7, in Santa Cruz, the country's most populous city, following a legal process that lasted three years and ten months.