South America news

A surge in Covid-19 cases across Latin America has made it the second-worst hit region for virus deaths, outpacing the US and Canada and trailing only Europe. The situation has been exacerbated by poverty and lack of mass testing.

As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in South America, it is the poorest who are worst affected. The pandemic has highlighted the societal problems that countries have been unable to eradicate.

The Iranian-flagged tanker ‘Fortune’ has arrived at its final destination, docking at El Palito port on Venezuela's northern coast. The vessel is the first of five Iranian tankers that set sail for Caracas loaded with fuel.

The footage shows the Iran-flagged vessel –reportedly shadowed by a US ship– as it passed through stormy waters en route to Venezuelan shores with hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil in its tanks.

The United States will face consequences if it takes action against Iranian tankers en route to Venezuela, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has vowed. It comes after the Venezuelan military said it would escort the ships to port.

Iranian oil tankers heading to Venezuela are facing an imminent threat of a US armed attack in what Caracas labels a “crime of aggression and extermination,” the country’s envoy to the United Nations has warned.