Category Archives: Americas

‘Beggars in our own land’: Canada’s First Nation housing crisis

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In January, an isolated reserve declared a state of emergency over dangerously poor housing conditions. A resident has now died – what will it take for meaningful change?

A caravan of trucks carrying material for new homes is currently winding through northern Ontario, on its way to a remote Indigenous community. The trip along a seasonal winter road is a slow one, passing over frozen lakes and muskeg, and involves cutting down trees along the way for the vehicles and their trailers. Members of the isolated reserve, Cat Lake First Nation, say there is no time to waste.

Home to roughly 700 people, the reserve declared a state of emergency in January over excessive mould, leaky roofs and other poor housing conditions. The crisis then deepened when one of its residents, 48-year-old Nashie Oombash, died from respiratory issues. Her family blamed the death on extensive mould problems in her home.

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Venezuela: huge power outage leaves much of country in the dark

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At least 18 of 23 states reportedly affected by blackout authorities blamed on anti-government saboteurs

Venezuela has been hit by a vast power cut, with at least 18 of its 23 states reportedly affected by a blackout authorities blamed on anti-government saboteurs.

Commuters in the country’s crumbling capital, Caracas, were forced to walk home from work after the metro service was paralyzed by the outage, while the international airport was reportedly plunged into darkness.

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El Salvador: three women jailed for abortions released

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Supreme Court commutes 30-year sentences of trio who have each served 10 years in prison

El Salvador’s Supreme Court has commuted the 30-year sentences of three women imprisoned for abortion convictions, lessening their punishment to time served and ordering them to be released immediately.

The three women had spent about 10 years in prison on aggravated homicide charges for allegedly having abortions. All claimed that they had miscarriages. The court found that the women were victims of social and economic circumstances and ruled that the original sentences were unreasonable.

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How a populist president helped Bolivia’s poor – but built himself a palace

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The link between South American populism and declining inequality is striking – especially in Evo Morales’ landlocked nation

The whirr of a helicopter setting off from Evo Morales’ new 29-storey presidential palace sends the pigeons in a nearby square scattering. To critics of Bolivia’s longest-serving leader, the glass-fronted building adorned by a helipad is an alarming sign of the president’s increasing vanity.

Inocencio Carvajal Lopez, however, remains unfazed. For this 62-year-old indigenous leader, the sight of the bright red helicopter is, like the palace itself, a sign that Bolivia is at last on the up.

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Justin Trudeau regrets ‘erosion of trust’ over political scandal

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Canadian PM responds to SNC-Lavalin saga for first time, saying no laws have been broken

Justin Trudeau has expressed regret for his handling of a political scandal that has cost him two cabinet ministers and a close adviser – but stopped short of apologising and insisted no laws had been broken and that no unethical actions were taken by him or his staff.

“This has been a tough few weeks,” the Canadian prime minister said. “Canadians expect and deserve to have faith in their institutions and the people who act within them … I have taken – and will continue to take – many lessons from these recent days and few weeks.”

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Huawei sues US over government ban on its products

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Chinese company files lawsuit claiming restriction is unlawful, harms consumers and violates constitution

Huawei is suing the US over a government ban on its products, raising the stakes in a protracted diplomatic incident between China, the US and Canada, where a senior Huawei executive is facing extradition.

In a statement on Thursday, the Chinese telecoms equipment and smartphone manufacturer said it had filed a lawsuit in the US district court in Plano, Texas, home to the company’s US headquarters, calling for the ban on US government agencies buying Huawei equipment or services to be overturned.

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Venezuela orders German ambassador to leave

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Nicolás Maduro’s administration accuses Daniel Kriener of ‘crass’ and ‘unlawful’ meddling in Venezuelan affairs

Nicolás Maduro’s embattled government has declared the German ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours as Venezuela’s political crisis intensified on Wednesday.

The decision to expel Daniel Kriener – who has been based in Caracas since last year – was announced on Twitter by Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza.

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Increase in migrant detentions at US border reveals Trump’s policy failure

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Experts say officials have failed to acknowledge violence and instability in Central America and say system of ‘metering’ is not working

A staggering increase in the number of families apprehended at the US-Mexico border in February has highlighted the Trump administration’s failure to respond to the rise in Central Americans seeking protection in the US.

In February, 66,450 people were apprehended at the US-Mexico border by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency announced on Tuesday – 17,800 more than were apprehended in January and double the number who were apprehended in February last year.

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Michael Jackson songs pulled from radio stations in New Zealand and Canada

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Backlash comes after documentary Leaving Neverland details abuse allegations of two men against the singer

Dozens of radio stations around the world have removed Michael Jackson’s music from their playlists after allegations that the late singer abused children aired on Sunday in the documentary Leaving Neverland.

In New Zealand, the public broadcaster and its major commercial rivals – whose listener base covers more than half the population – united in opting not to play Jackson’s hits.

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Brazilians demand answers for Marielle Franco’s murder at Rio carnival

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Revellers used annual carnival to ‘protest’ and pay tribute to the councilwoman nearly a year after the still-unsolved murder

Nearly a year after the still-unsolved murder of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman and LGBT activist Marielle Franco, Brazilian revellers have used their country’s annual carnival to demand answers.

Related: Lights, sequins, samba: Rio carnival at the Sambadrome – in pictures

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‘Thousands’ of young girls denied abortion after rape in Argentina

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Anti-choice doctors and health officials accused of obstructing legal terminations after 11-year-old girl gave birth to rapist’s child

The lives of thousands of girls in Argentina are being put at risk as legal abortions are delayed and obstructed by doctors trying to force pregnancies to full term.

The issue of anti-choice doctors, medical institutions and government officials deliberately trying to hold up legally sanctioned terminations was brought into sharp focus last week when it emerged that an 11-year-old girl’s baby was born alive because health officials delayed her request for an abortion. The girl had fallen pregnant after being raped by her grandmother’s boyfriend.

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Justin Trudeau: second minister resigns from cabinet as scandal deepens

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Jane Philpott, the treasury secretary, announced her resignation days after Jody Wilson-Raybould testified officials pressured her

A second minister has resigned from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet amid a deepening political scandal which is already threatening the prime minister’s prospects in this year’s federal election.

Related: China accuses detained Canadian of stealing state secrets

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Guaidó returns to Venezuela with new hope to unseat Maduro

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Washington warned on eve of arrival Maduro faces ‘strong and significant response’ if Guaidó is detained or threatened

The opposition figurehead battling to dislodge Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has made an audacious and dramatic homecoming, flying into the country’s main airport as he sought to re-energize his campaign for political change.

Juan Guaidó – who secretly left Venezuela last month to conduct a support-seeking tour of South America – landed at the Simón Bolívar international airport on Monday on a commercial flight from Panama.

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The scandal that could bring down Justin Trudeau – video explainer

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Canada's prime minister is facing calls to resign over the biggest political scandal of his administration. It centres on claims by his former attorney general Jody-Wilson Raybould that Trudeau's advisers improperly pressured her to prevent the prosecution of the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin over paying alleged bribes in Libya

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‘We are fighting’: Brazil’s indigenous groups unite to protect their land

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Residents of Raposa Serra do Sol are determined to face down the threat posed by mining

“A united people will never be defeated!” shouted Maria Betânia Mota, as the indigenous assembly in a partially burned-out agricultural college began. Hundreds of voices roared back in approval.

Betânia Mota is the women’s secretary of its organisers, the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), which represents the majority of those living in the 1.7m hectares of savannah and scrub that make up the Raposa Serra do Sol reserve in Brazil’s northernmost state.

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Huawei: Meng Wanzhou sues Canadian government over arrest

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Chinese CFO claims she was detained and interrogated before being told she was under arrest

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese technology company Huawei, is suing the Canadian government, its border agency and the national police force over her high-profile detention. Meng claims they detained, searched and interrogated her before telling her she was under arrest.

Lawyers for Meng said on Sunday they had filed a notice of civil claim in the British Columbia supreme court. Canada arrested Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, at the request of the US on 1 December at Vancouver airport. US prosecutors will accuse her of misleading banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran.

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Brazilian mining CEO steps down amid anger over dam collapse

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Fabio Schvartsman and other executives resign after claims firm knew dam was unstable

The boss of the Brazilian iron ore mining firm Vale has resigned, following growing public and political anger over the collapse of a dam in which at least 186 people died.

Fabio Schvartsman and several other senior executives resigned on a “temporary” basis on Saturday after prosecutors recommended their dismissal. The move came after a leak of official documents suggested that Vale knew the dam was at a heightened risk of collapse.

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Ex-Brazil president Lula leaves prison to attend grandson’s funeral

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  • Workers’ party leader serving 12 years for corruption
  • Lula reiterates his innocence, vowing: ‘I’m going to get out’

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva left prison on Saturday to attend the funeral of his seven-year-old grandson, reiterating his innocence before political leaders and relatives who had gathered to mourn.

Lula, who is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, was released at 7am local time from a prison in the Paraná state capital, Curitiba. He flew to São Paulo before taking a helicopter to São Bernardo do Campo, where the funeral took place. He was scheduled to return to his cell later in the afternoon.

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