South America

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — It was a day like any other at the TC Television studio in Ecuador, with its mid-afternoon newscast underway, when masked gunmen burst in, unleashing at least 15 minutes of threats and fear — all broadcast live.

First, a man with a pistol appeared in the middle of the public TV station’s live transmission, followed by a second man with a shotgun, then a third and more. With the show’s “After the News” title behind them, station employees were brought onto the set and ordered to lie down. Screams could be heard followed by the sound of gunshots.

CARACAS, January 9. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reaffirmed Venezuela’s historical territorial rights to Guyana Essequibo, the disputed border region controlled by neighboring Guyana, as he approved a plan for the South American country’s parliament to pass a law in the second reading for establishing Venezuela’s 24th state in the territory.

QUITO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa on Monday declared a state of emergency for 60 days a day after the country's most-wanted prisoner disappeared from the jail where he was being held.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The state of emergency and surrounding events are among the first big security tests for Noboa, a young businessman who took office in November promising to crack down on soaring levels of violence in the South American country.

LA PAZ, Jan 4 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Bolivian health authorities reported a 128% surge in cases of Covid-19 nationwide in addition to the detection of the JN.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus -also known as Pirola- in the department of Santa Cruz.

“We have had an increase in the number of cases, we have had a total of 1,933 in the 52nd epidemiological week [of 2023]. If we compare with epidemiological week 51, we have had 1,086 cases more than the previous week, implying a 128% increase,” explained Health Minister María Renée Castro.

LA PAZ, Jan 5 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Four people were killed, after their car crashed into a wall and burst into flames, near a lithium carbonate plant in Uyuni Salt Flats, in the Bolivian department of Potosi, said local authorities yesterday.

“The vehicle was likely travelling at excessive speed” when the driver lost control, collided with the wall, and came to a stop approximately 70 metres from the point of impact, Juan Carlos Oblitas, the deputy commander of Potosi Police, briefed reporters on the accident that occurred early Wednesday.

CARACAS, January 2. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro criticized the decision of his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei to refuse the country's accession to BRICS.

"By excluding Argentina from BRICS, he [Javier Milei] is acting against the Argentines. This is one of the most clumsy and stupid things that Miley has done against Argentina," Maduro said in a traditional interview with Le Monde diplomatique newspaper on January 1.

He added that such a decision "takes Argentina back to the 19th century."

ASUNCION, Jan 2 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Paraguayan health authorities have issued an alert amid an increase in the number of Covid-19 and influenza cases that are pushing the national sanitary network to its limits, it was reported in Asunción.

According to the Health Surveillance report, there has been a sustained increase in Covid-19 cases, with 975 new infections last week, 70 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths, which represents a significant growth from 435 cases only three weeks ago.

LIMA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Peru's Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the national level saw a 0.30 percent increase in December, closing the January-December 2023 period with an inflation rate of 3.41 percent, the National Institute of Statistics and Information (INEI) reported Monday.

The report said that the CPI increase registered in December at the national level was due to increases above the national average in the transport divisions by 1.10 percent, food and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.38 percent, and tobacco by 0.36 percent.

CARACAS, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday shared a New Year's Eve message, in which he highlighted the struggles and successes of the South American country in 2023, and forecasted fresh achievements for 2024.

Via social media site X, Maduro invited Venezuelans to celebrate "a 2024 of new victories."

"2023 has been a year of struggles, but also of victories and hope. We have overcome obstacles, demonstrating that unity and solidarity are our strength," he said.

SANTIAGO, Dec 30 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chile’s Government announced it was extending the agricultural emergency stemming from a water deficit due to poor rains, it was reported in Santiago. With this measure, authorities may keep up the aid to producers from Atacama to Magallanes until Sept. 30, 2024.

 The contingency plan reaches 100% of the communes in the Coquimbo region and in the provinces of Petorca, San Antonio, San Felipe de Aconcagua, Los Andes, Marga Marga, and Valparaíso, except for Juan Fernández.