A shoal of piranhas has attacked bathers in the Argentinian province of Rosario, injuring 70 people and resulting in amputations. Officials have suggested the freak incident was caused by the unusually high temperatures at the time of the attack. The attack occurred on the beaches of Rambla Catalunya on the river Parana, where around 9,000 people had gathered on Christmas Day to escape the heat wave... 

The overflooded Doce River in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state on December 26, 2013. The death toll for flooding and landslides in southeastern Brazil has reached 44, with thousands of people still displaced, officials say. According to Civil Defense officials in Espirito Santo, 27 people, including eight on Thursday, lost their lives in the state. A total of 61,379 people were forced to leave their homes. Espirito... 

The house is submerged by floodwater in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on December 23, 2013. Brazilian authorities say floods and mudslides caused by heavy rain have killed at least 20 people and forced 40,000 others from their homes in southeastern parts of the country. The civil defense department of the Minas Gerais state said on its Monday website that 14 people were killed in... 

In 1994, Cuba established the dual monetary system following the fall of the Soviet Union, which financially supported Cuba for decades. Cuba’s top economic official says the government will eliminate a currency pegged to the US dollar, in a move to end its dual-currency system and address problems of economic inequality. Vice-President Marino Murillo told parliament on Friday that the convertible... 

Former CIA officer Edward Snowden, who was given temporary asylum in Russia, requests permanent shelter in Brazil. In exchange, the disgraced American whistleblower promises to assist in the investigation of USA’s espionage against Brazil. It is not the first time, when Snowden requests asylum in Brazil. Earlier, he appealed to the leaders of Russia, Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, Germany and other... 

Brazil has rejected a contract for Boeing’s F/A-18 fighter jets in favor of the Swedish Saab’s JAS 39 Gripens. The unexpected move to reject the US bid comes amid the global scandal over the NSA’s involvement in economic espionage activities. The announcement for the purchase of 36 fighters was made Wednesday by Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim and Air Force Commander Junti Saito. The... 

View of Uruguay’s lower house during the debate of a bill that legalizes marijuana. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has criticized Uruguay’s decision to legalize marijuana, saying the move violates international law. On December 10, the Latin American nation’s parliament passed a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana after Uruguayan President Jose Mujica championed the measure... 

Russia is going to write off 90 percent of Cuba’s $32 billion Soviet-era debt as part of a deal to end a 20-year dispute, according to diplomatic sources cited by Reuters. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev agreed to write off the island’s debt during a visit to Havana in February 2013, stressing details would be finalized by the end of the year. In October, the two sides announced a refinancing... 

Members of Uruguayan Legislative Palace approve a law legalizing marijuana on December 10, 2013. Legislators in the tiny Latin American nation of Uruguay have approved a measure to legalize and regulate marijuana, emerging as the first country in the world to permit both the sale and production of the addictive drug. The country’s parliament passed the bill by a vote of 16 to 13 on Tuesday evening... 

Country with largest oil reserves in the world can’t provide rudimentary service. It is said Benito Mussolini, Italy’s former socialist turned fascist, made the trains run on time. But his modern day counterpart, Nicholas Maduro, can’t keep the lights on in Venezuela. The South American country was pitched into darkness for a second time this year as a power outage struck the oil-rich country.... 

Argentine Defense Minister Agustin Rossi Argentinean Defense Minister Agustin Rossi has called for a joint plan among South American countries to cope with the US spying activities. Rossi made the remarks during a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim in Brasilia on Thursday. “I believe that UNASUR (the Union of South American Nations) must have a joint defense strategy,” the... 

Chilean workers march in protest demanding better wages in the capital Santiago. Some 10,000 public sector workers in Chile have taken to the streets in the capital to protest over stalled discussions on better wages. The protest march was held in the capital Santiago on Wednesday as a part of a two-day strike called after the government suspended a meeting to resume negotiation talks on pay increases. Public... 

Brazil has called an unscheduled meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over reports of the US National Security Agency (NSA) spying on the financial institution. ON Wednesday, Brazil’s IMF representative, Paulo Nogueira Batista, called on the IMF executive board to convene to ask for explanations on the reported NSA espionage. The official declined to divulge what was said at the meeting,... 

Venezuelan troops have seized Daka chain stores over high prices. Venezuelan troops have occupied stores of the chain electronics company known as Daka in an attempt to force the retailer to sell products at cheap prices. Authorities sent Members of Venezuela’s National Guard to Daka’s five stores on Saturday. According to reports, hundreds of people lined up outside the Daka stores hoping for... 

Brazil and Germany have formally presented an anti-spying draft resolution to the UN General Assembly amid the US surveillance scandal. On Thursday, the jointly sponsored Brazilian-German resolution was introduced to the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee. “Today, there seem to be hardly any technical limitations for accessing, storing or combining personal data. But should everything...