South America

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 24 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro kicked off his candidacy for re-election at a party event in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday with a speech focused on God, guns and family, as the right-wing leader attempts to claw back the commanding lead established by his main rival, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Workers' Party on Thursday officially launched the presidential candidacy of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the upcoming October election, after he was nominated by party delegates.

The event in Sao Paulo was hosted by the Federation of Hope Brazil, consisting of the Workers' Party, the Communist Party of Brazil and the Green Party. Former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin was nominated as the vice presidential candidate.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Environmental criminals in the Brazilian Amazon destroyed public forests equal the size of El Salvador over the past six years, yet the Federal Police — the Brazilian version of the FBI — carried out only seven operations aimed at this massive loss, according to a new study.

BUENOS AIRES, July 16 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s Foreign Ministry has declared that Uruguay’s negotiations with China towards a Free Trade Agreement must go through Mercosur.

”The Secretariat of International Economic Relations emphasized that Uruguay’s decision to begin talks soon to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China, without the participation of Mercosur, is in the evaluation stage,” the diplomatic document highlighted.

BRASILIA, July 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday he knows how the war between Russia and Ukraine could be "resolved" and that he will pitch his suggestions to Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with whom he is set to have a phone meeting next week.

"I'll tell him my opinion, what I think. The solution to this. I know how it could be resolved. But I won't tell anyone," Bolsonaro told reporters while on a visit to the northeastern state of Maranhao.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The wails pierced the walls of the walk-in clinic tucked among rundown homes in the heart of Venezuela’s capital. Artemis Parra got one vaccine in each arm, for polio and measles. The shots were free at the government site, and they filled gaps in the 1-year-old’s vaccination record. But they weren’t enough to meet national requirements for children her age. Artemis needs two more, at a cost of $400 — a bill her unemployed mother and government-worker father can’t afford.

SANTIAGO, Jul 13 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Two earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.3 and 5.2, shook Chile’s Easter Island yesterday, but did not generate a tsunami threat, the National Emergency Office of the Ministry of Interior and Public Security, reported.

The ministry detailed that, the first tremor, measuring 6.3, was registered at 3:17 p.m. local time, 699 km to the north-west of Easter Island, a Chilean island territory, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

BRASILIA, July 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that a deal was close with Moscow to buy much cheaper diesel from Russia, in what would appear to be the latest tangible benefit stemming from his friendly relationship with President Vladimir Putin.

Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, gave no further details. Neither Bolsonaro's office, nor Brazil's Mining and Energy Ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.

BRASILIA, Jul 10 (NNN-CMA) – Brazil forecasted a grain output of 272.5 million tonnes for the 2021-2022 agricultural season, with favourable weather conditions expected, for the second harvest.

The figure represents a 6.7 percent increase over the previous season, state-run National Supply Company announced.

Cultivated area is expected to increase by four million hectares compared to the 2020-2021 season, the report said.

BUENOS AIRES, July 9 (Reuters) - Argentine President Alberto Fernandez called for unity on Saturday as protesters marched in the capital to the gates of the presidential palace, lambasting his government over soaring inflation and a crushing national debt.

The center-left president is facing a rising challenge from a militant left-wing of the ruling coalition that wants more state spending to ease high poverty levels and inflation. Two key moderate allies have left his Cabinet in the last month.