At least two people were killed and several others injured as an overpass collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte, according to the local fire department. A city bus and several vehicles were crushed after a part of a bridge, which was under construction, fell onto a busy highway. People may be trapped under the debris. O’Globo’s footage showed a yellow bus crushed... 

A man and a woman struggle to cross a flooded road in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, June 29, 2014. An emergency agency in Brazil says severe flooding caused by torrential rain in the southern parts of the country has forced more than 50,000 people out of their homes. The emergency agency for Santa Catarina State said 40,000 people had been evacuated, while in neighboring state, Rio Grande... 

A view of a ranch in the Mexican state of Veracruz on June 18, 2014, where the bodies of at least 28 people have been exhumed from a mass grave. The bodies of at least 28 people have been found in a mass grave at a ranch in the Mexican state of Veracruz. “So far, we’ve exhumed 28 bodies,” Deputy District Attorney Arturo Herrera said in a Wednesday statement. Veracruz, a stronghold... 

An Indian scientist living in Mexico has received the World Food Prize for outstanding contribution to wheat crop’s resistance to various diseases. Indian-born Sanjaya Rajaram was awarded with the accolade for his effective cross-breeding of different wheat, which has resulted in the crop’s resistance against disease as well as its ability to grow in different climates and environments. He is... 

The football showdown between Japan and Greece ended in a scoreless draw, but the Japanese fans scored top points from the clean-up crew after leaving the stands of the stadium and its bathroom unblemished. It turns out that Japanese football fans have a tradition of cleaning up the stadium after matches at home, a practice which the fans vigorously undertake in Brazil. “It’s our tradition.... 

Radiotelescope antennas of the ALMA ( Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) project, in the Chajnantor plateau, Atacama desert, some 1500 kilometers north of Santiago, on October 1, 2011. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), the world’s largest radiotelescope, located in the mountains of northern Chile, has received its finishing touches. The device, whose completion has occasioned... 

A view of the Itaquerao Stadium in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. Football fever grips the fans as the World Cup starts in Brazil while police in Sao Paulo clashed with protesters opposing the tournament. On Thursday, the Itaquerao Stadium shined under blue skies as Brazil kicked off its home World Cup with a football-style carnival. Some fans reportedly chanted slogans against Brazilian President... 

As one of the preconditions to authorizing close to $300 million in aid, the United States is pressuring El Salvador to purchase genetically modified seeds from Monsanto instead of non-GM seeds from local farmers. According to Sustainable Pulse, a website covering developments related to genetically modified organisms and sustainable agriculture, the US will reportedly withhold $277 million in aid... 

The powerful regional organisations created in Latin America, an important legacy of the late Hugo Chavez, have forced cracks in Washington’s 50-year economic blockade of Cuba. Senior US regime figures have called on President Barack Obama to loosen the blockade. Obama loosened a few of the additional measures imposed by Bush the Second (lifting some severe restrictions on family member visits)... 

A march in support of marijuana legalization united thousands of Chileans, who walked through downtown Santiago on Sunday. The capital saw people openly smoking joints, citing the example of neighbor Uruguay, which officially legalized pot in May. The demonstrators demanded the legalization of marijuana, decriminalization of consumption, including the right to grow marijuana for personal use. The... 

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden If Brazil were to offer political asylum to Edward Snowden, he would gladly accept. The whistleblower told Brazilian TV that he is certain that if he returned to the US he would be tried unfairly for revealing the NSA’s global spy program. In an interview with Fantastico, a weekly program broadcast by Brazilian Globo News, Snowden opened up about his life in... 

Chilean artist Francisco Tapia Chilean activist and artist Francisco Tapia, also known as ‘Papas Fritas,’ has stolen and burnt $500 million worth of “pagares,” or debt papers. He then uploaded the video onto social media, claiming he had “freed” students by setting the papers alight. The artist made his claim in a video that went viral on May 12, where he says that debt owed to... 

Scientists in Argentina say they have found the remains of what could be the largest dinosaur ever to have walked the planet. By analyzing the fossils, they say it could have been 40 meters in length and weighed 77 tons – as much as 14 elephants. The discovery was made by a local farm worker in Patagonia. The fossils were then excavated by a team of paleontologists from the Museum of Paleontology... 

Unionists have held a massive demonstration in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, demanding that the government address economic and social problems, Press TV reports. According to estimates by security forces, around 50,000 people participated in marches leading to Argentina’s Presidential Palace on Wednesday. The demonstrators condemned the growing inequalities fuelled by the economic crisis... 

Ecuador has ordered 20 US military staff working at the US Embassy in Quito to leave the country by the end of the month. US embassy spokesman Jeffrey Weinshenker said on Thursday that the group was ordered to halt work on April 7, The Associated Press reported. Officials in Washington say the 20 people have not yet left the South American country. They say the expulsion does not affect the embassy’s...