South America

04 Feb 2019; AFP: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says in an Italian TV interview that he has written to Pope Francis asking for help in fostering dialogue.

Maduro said in the interview with Sky TG24 that he hopes the letter is in route or has reached the Vatican.

SAN SALVADOR, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Nayib Bukele declared victory in El Salvador's presidential elections on Sunday after securing a decisive lead over his two main rivals.

According to preliminary results from the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), with more than 87 percent of ballots counted, the 37-year-old former mayor of San Salvador garnered a commanding 53.8 percent of the votes, enough to win the first round.

In second place was Carlos Calleja, candidate of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance, with 31 percent of the votes.

BUENOS AIRES; 03 Feb 2019; AA: The death toll rose to 121 after a dam burst in southeastern Brazil on Jan. 25, according to the local media.

At least 226 people have been missing near the town of Brumadinho after the dam broke at an iron ore mining complex operated by the Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A.

Search-and-rescue efforts remain ongoing in the area.

So far, a total of five people were arrested over the incident.

GENEVA; 03 Feb 2019; AA: Venezuela’s envoy to the UN told Anadolu Agency that the people of his country were prepared to resist a possible U.S. military intervention.

“We are totally prepared for any military aggression by a foreign country,” said Ambassador Jorge Valero, the permanent representative of Venezuela to the UN.

“We have millions of people prepared for a long resistance […] with any kind of arms,” he added.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Salvadorans will choose Sunday from among a handful of presidential candidates all promising to end corruption, stamp out gang violence and create more jobs with the front-runner hoping to end three decades of two-party rule in the country.

CARACAS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Saturday proposed holding early elections for the National Assembly as a possible solution to the country's political crisis.

Maduro said before thousands of supporters who had gathered on Bolivar Avenue in Caracas that the government-controlled Constituent National Assembly would decide whether or not to call early elections for the opposition-held National Assembly.

BRASILIA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mining giant Vale, owner of the iron-ore tailings dam that collapsed in Brazil's southeast Minas Gerais state, said Thursday that it was seeking an out-of-court settlement with the regional government.

Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman met with Brazil's General Prosecutor Raquel Dodge in the capital Brasilia to discuss compensating the hundreds of families affected by the disaster in the rural town of Brumadinho.

Caracas, January 30; GANASHAKTI: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro assured Wednesday that the main reason for the growing pressure exerted by the United States against his government is the desire to seize its oil and mineral resources.

In an exclusive interview with the Russian outlet Sputnik, the president made reference to the mineral and natural wealth of his country as the reason behind Washington supporting coup efforts against his country.

31 Jan 2019; AA: Seven reporters have been arrested in Venezuela following demonstrations in the capital Caracas, local media reports said on Thursday.

According to Spanish national news agency EFE, a Colombian photojournalist of the agency, who went to cover the events across the country, disappeared on Wednesday morning in Caracas.

The agency said he had been arrested by Venezuelan authorities along with his two colleagues -- one Spanish and one Colombian.

MOSCOW, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he is ready to hold talks with the country's opposition with the help of international mediators, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

"I am ready to sit down at the negotiating table with the opposition so that we can speak for the good of Venezuela, for the sake of peace and the country's future," the Russian news agency quoted Maduro as saying in an interview.