By BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia’s President Ivan Duque on Friday offered to receive the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca to demonstrate its safety, following concerns over blood clotting.Safety worries caused at least 13 European countries to stop administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, slowing inoculation campaigns across the European Union.However, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to keep administering the vaccine as it added its endorsement to that of European and British regulators.Duque told Colombia’s Health Minister Fernando Ruiz that while he has so far...…By BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia’s President Ivan Duque on Friday offered to receive the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca to demonstrate its safety, following concerns over blood clotting.Safety worries caused at least 13 European countries to stop administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, slowing inoculation campaigns across the European Union.However, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to keep administering the vaccine as it added its endorsement to that of European and British regulators.Duque told Colombia’s Health Minister Fernando Ruiz that while he has so far...WW…

By BOGOTA (Reuters) - Criminal organizations in Bolivia and other Latin American countries are bribing police and circumventing customs restrictions to smuggle parts of jaguars to mainland China, an investigation by environmental groups showed on Thursday.Seventy-five intelligence sources across Latin America, including traffickers, confirmed in a report commissioned by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in the Netherlands (IUCN NL) that criminals operate established routes and sometimes bribe high-ranking police officers to look the other way.Jaguars, Latin America’s...…By BOGOTA (Reuters) - Criminal organizations in Bolivia and other Latin American countries are bribing police and circumventing customs restrictions to smuggle parts of jaguars to mainland China, an investigation by environmental groups showed on Thursday.Seventy-five intelligence sources across Latin America, including traffickers, confirmed in a report commissioned by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in the Netherlands (IUCN NL) that criminals operate established routes and sometimes bribe high-ranking police officers to look the other way.Jaguars, Latin America’s...WW…

By , BOGOTA (Reuters) - The mayor of Bogota begged forgiveness on Sunday and called for reconciliation after protests in Colombia’s capital the past week left 10 civilians dead and hundreds injured.Slideshow Protests in Bogota and satellite city Soacha began following the death on Wednesday of Javier Ordonez, 46. A widely shared video showed the father of two being repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by police. He died later in a hospital.During protests on Wednesday, seven young people, including teenagers, died after being shot in Bogota. Three other people died in connection with the...…By , BOGOTA (Reuters) - The mayor of Bogota begged forgiveness on Sunday and called for reconciliation after protests in Colombia’s capital the past week left 10 civilians dead and hundreds injured.Slideshow Protests in Bogota and satellite city Soacha began following the death on Wednesday of Javier Ordonez, 46. A widely shared video showed the father of two being repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by police. He died later in a hospital.During protests on Wednesday, seven young people, including teenagers, died after being shot in Bogota. Three other people died in connection with the...WW…

By SAN LUCAS MOUNTAINS, Colombia (Reuters) - In a clearing around his modest smallholding, farmer Arcadio Barajas stands before a sea of coffee plants, cloaked in the shadow cast by a wall of verdant forest that covers the San Lucas mountains of northern Colombia.The San Lucas range is one of the most unexplored places in this South American nation, which is the world’s second most biodiverse country after neighboring Brazil. From its towering Andean peaks to its tropical islands and dense Amazon rainforest, Colombia is home to over 50,000 recorded species of animals and...…By SAN LUCAS MOUNTAINS, Colombia (Reuters) - In a clearing around his modest smallholding, farmer Arcadio Barajas stands before a sea of coffee plants, cloaked in the shadow cast by a wall of verdant forest that covers the San Lucas mountains of northern Colombia.The San Lucas range is one of the most unexplored places in this South American nation, which is the world’s second most biodiverse country after neighboring Brazil. From its towering Andean peaks to its tropical islands and dense Amazon rainforest, Colombia is home to over 50,000 recorded species of animals and...WW…

By BOGOTA (Reuters) - As the coronavirus kills thousands and dominates government attention across Latin America, another deadly viral infection is quietly stalking the region.Dengue - colloquially called breakbone fever for the severe joint pain it causes - is endemic in much of Latin America, but COVID-19’s arrival has pulled crucial attention and resources away from the fight against it, doctors and officials say.The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) expects 2020 to be marked by high rates of dengue, which can fill intensive care units and kill patients even absent the pressures of...…By BOGOTA (Reuters) - As the coronavirus kills thousands and dominates government attention across Latin America, another deadly viral infection is quietly stalking the region.Dengue - colloquially called breakbone fever for the severe joint pain it causes - is endemic in much of Latin America, but COVID-19’s arrival has pulled crucial attention and resources away from the fight against it, doctors and officials say.The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) expects 2020 to be marked by high rates of dengue, which can fill intensive care units and kill patients even absent the pressures of...WW…