BOGOTÁ (NYTIMES) - In the capital of Colombia, Bogotá, the mayor is warning residents to brace for "the worst two weeks of our lives". Uruguay, once lauded as a model for keeping the coronavirus under control, now has one of the highest death rates in the world, while the grim daily tallies of the dead have hit records in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru in recent days. Even Venezuela, where the authoritarian government is notorious for hiding health statistics and any suggestion of disarray, says that coronavirus deaths are up 86 per cent since January. As vaccinations mount in some of the world's wealthiest countries and people cautiously envision life after the pandemic, the crisis in Latin America - and in South America in particular - is taking an alarming turn for the worse, potentially threatening the progress made well beyond its borders. Last week, Latin America accounted for 35 per cent of all coronavirus deaths in the world, despite having just 8 per cent of the global population, according to data compiled by The New York Times. Latin America was already one of world's hardest hit regions in 2020, with bodies sometimes abandoned on sidewalks and
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Olympic champion and Kardashian clan member Caitlyn Jenner said on Friday (April 23) she has filed paperwork to run for governor of California, in a bid to become the first transgender American to win such a high-profile post. "I'm in!" the 71-year-old transgender icon and former decathlete said in a statement, adding she will formally launch her campaign - presumably as a Republican - in the coming weeks. Jenner is the most high-profile non-politician to run for governor since Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger clinched a shock victory as a Republican in California's 2003 recall election. He served as governor for more than seven years. Jenner's bid is considered a longshot by experts. But it comes as Gavin Newsom, a suave 53-year-old Democrat from San Francisco, faces a backlash over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly his stay-at-home order that hit the state's businesses and families hard. California is expected to hold its second-ever recall election sometime this year, as the state's anti-Newsom petition appears on track to secure the necessary number of signatures to trigger a recall vote. "I am a proven winner and the only outsider who can
BRASILIA (REUTERS) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday (April 22) announced his most ambitious environmental goals yet, saying the country would reach emissions neutrality by 2050 in response to US President Joe Biden's demands for stronger climate action. Speaking at a summit of world leaders called by Biden for Earth Day, Bolsonaro's pledge would move up the previous target for reaching net zero emissions by 10 years. Bolsonaro had sought to closely align with the United States under former President Donald Trump, who did not criticise Brazil's environmental policy despite a major surge in Amazon rainforest deforestation and fires. The Biden administration appears to have forced a realignment in relations by placing environment at the centre of US-Brazil diplomatic talks in recent weeks. On Thursday, Bolsonaro pledged to double funding for environmental enforcement efforts in an apparent policy reversal. The president had previously railed against environmental enforcement and further weakened environmental agencies, whose budgets and staff had already been dwindling for years. It was unclear how Brazil would pay for the additional enforcement, with the 2021 budget nearly complete and Bolsonaro facing a deadline on Thursday to sign it. "This funding is being
