South America

SAN JOSE DE GUANIPA, Venezuela (Reuters) - Francisco Belisario, a Venezuelan mayor, retired general and member of the ruling Socialist party, had enough. His loudest local critic had accused him of bungling the response to the coronavirus outbreak and other big problems.

BRASILIA, Dec 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Jair Bolsonaro said Brazil was at the “tail end” of the coronavirus pandemic, despite a surge in
infections and deaths that many experts are calling a second wave.

“We’re at the tail end of the pandemic. Compared to other countries in the
world, our government was the best, or one of the best, in handling it,” he
president said on a visit to the southern city of Porto Alegre.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Commercial flights with Boeing 737 Max jetliners resumed Wednesday for the first time since they were grounded worldwide nearly two years ago following two deadly accidents.

Brazil’s Gol Airlines became the first in the world to return the planes to its active fleet, using a 737 Max 8 on a flight from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre, according to flightradar24.com.

The company own announcement didn’t specify the route of the flight.

CARACAS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday voiced hope for dialogue with the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.

"Let's hope that the new government of Mr. Joe Biden will be installed. Let's hope they have time to think and channels of communication and dialogue between Venezuela and the United States are opened," Maduro told a press conference at government headquarters in Caracas.

RIO-DE-JANEIRO, December 8. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro thanked Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the participation of Russian observers in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in the Bolivarian Republic.

"Mr. Ambassador, I ask you to convey our gratitude to President Vladimir Putin for his interest in the democratic process in Venezuela," the president told a meeting with a Russian delegation of observers broadcast on his YouTube account.

BRASILIA, Dec 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Until Brazil makes a political commitment to curb deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, the trade deal between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur trade bloc will not advance toward ratification in Europe, the EU’s envoy in Brasilia said.

Ambassador Ignacio Ybañez said in an interview that talks were underway to add a commitment to the treaty concluded last year, and that Brazil’s government is aware it is needed to save two decades of negotiations.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolás Maduro has cemented formal control over all major institutions of power in Venezuela with authorities reporting Monday that his political alliance easily won a majority in congress. Yet he remains a pariah to much of the world following an election critics called deeply undemocratic.

Maduro’s domestic adversaries, however, are also scrambling to assert their own relevance after boycotting elections for the National Assembly that has been their stronghold for five years.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil’s leader Jair Bolsonaro is moving to assert control of the nation’s independent health regulator, Anvisa, a move some health experts fear will politicize the agency and give the president, one of the world’s most prominent coronavirus skeptics, free rein over vaccine approvals.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s socialist party was poised to gain control of the National Assembly, the country’s last major independent institution, in congressional elections boycotted by the main opposition coalition.

Official results had not yet been released by late Sunday night, but analysts they say are a near-foregone conclusion with the vote largely shunned by rival candidates and declared a sham by the U.S., European Union and several other nations.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 6 (NNN-CMA) – Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll yesterday surpassed 176,000 after registering 664 deaths in the last 24 hours, with the nationwide tally now at 176,628, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, a total of 43,209 new cases were reported, bringing the national count to 6,577,177.

Since Nov, the South American country experienced an increase in cases and deaths, causing hospitals in the two largest cities in the country, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, to reach 100 percent occupancy.