Coronavirus infections in Latin America surged past two million on Saturday, with worst-hit Brazil home to nearly half of the cases as the virus accelerates its spread in the region.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/coronavirus-brazil-nears-50000-deaths-experts-fear-real-number-to-be-much-higher-307409" hreflang="en">Coronavirus: Brazil nears 50,000 deaths; experts fear real number to be much higher</a>

Europe, which has endured months of lockdowns to slow the virus but at a crippling economic cost, was set to further ease restrictions with Spain reopening to tourists on Sunday and Italy enjoying its first Serie A soccer match in 103 days.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spain-to-allow-british-tourists-to-visit-from-sunday-without-need-for-quarantine-spanish-foreign-minister-307363" hreflang="en">Spain to allow British tourists to visit from Sunday without need for quarantine: Spanish foreign minister</a>

In the US, which has been taking stuttering steps to reopen even as 20 states have reported a rebound in infections, President Donald Trump Saturday claimed his measures had "saved millions of lives" as he addressed his first rally in months.

"Now it's time to open up, get back to work," he told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma, even as six members of his advance team tested positive for COVID-19.

The world's largest economy is taking a beating in a year when Trump seeks re-election.

Trump had downplayed the risk that the evening rally might trigger a coronavirus outbreak, ignoring danger warnings by Tulsa health and municipal officials.

After the president had boasted on Twitter that "almost one million people" had requested tickets for the rally, the 20,000-capacity arena was far from full, with many upper deck seats empty.

The United States remains the country hardest-hit by the pandemic with 119,719 deaths out of 2,254,630 official cases, according to a tally Saturday by Johns Hopkins University.

With nearly 50,000 deaths and more than one million cases, Brazil is the second worst-affected.

In total Latin America and the Caribbean have 2,007,621 confirmed cases, according to an AFP tally based on official tallies.

The figures were particularly alarming in Chile, where the death toll nearly doubled to more than 7,000 under a revised tallying method, and passed 20,000 in Mexico.

Europe meanwhile chalked up more than 2.5 million cases. Although the spread has slowed, Europe is still the worst-affected continent.

The continent is easing its way out of strict lockdowns, even as the World Health Organization warns against giving in to isolation fatigue.

Spain on Sunday reopens its borders to European Union countries in a bid to gets its tourism industry back up and running after lifting its state of emergency.

British tourists will also be allowed in without having to quarantine, the Spanish foreign minister said.

As his country emerges from a 14-week lockdown, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that Spain remained vulnerable to the virus, which has claimed more than 28,000 lives there.

"We must remain on our guard and strictly follow hygiene and protection measures," he warned hours before the borders opened.

In France, millions more children were preparing to return to school on Monday after three months away.

"I cried with joy when I got the confirmation from the teacher that my two children would be going back to school full time," said Noemie from the southern city of Nice.

France is also reopening cinemas from Monday and stadiums for team sports, and in another sign of returning normality, actors have also started kissing again on film shoots.

A vaccine remains months off at best despite several trials, and scientists are still learning more about the virus, its symptoms and the extent to which it may have spread before being identified.

"The world is in a new and dangerous phase," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Friday.

"Many people are understandably fed up with being at home... but the virus is still spreading fast."

The virus has now killed more than 461,000 people and infected 8.7 million worldwide.

The Palestinian Authority announced Saturday it was temporarily closing the cities of Hebron and Nablus in the occupied West Bank after a sharp rise in infections.

Only goods will be allowed in, Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told journalists. Authorities have reported a total of 687 cases in the West Bank, including two deaths so far.

Coronavirus infections in Latin America surged past two million on Saturday, with worst-hit Brazil home to nearly half of the cases as the virus accelerates its spread in the region.

Coronavirus infections in Latin America surged past two million on Saturday, with worst-hit Brazil home to nearly half of the cases as the virus accelerates its spread in the region. Also read: Coronavirus: Brazil nears 50,000 deaths; experts fear real number to be much higher Europe, which has endured months of lockdowns to slow the virus but at a crippling economic cost, was set to further ease restrictions with Spain reopening to tourists on Sunday and Italy enjoying its first Serie A soccer match in 103 days. Also read: Spain to allow British tourists to visit from Sunday without need for quarantine: Spanish foreign minister In the US, which has been taking stuttering steps to reopen even as 20 states have reported a rebound in infections, President Donald Trump Saturday claimed his measures had "saved millions of lives" as he addressed his first rally in months. "Now it's time to open up, get back to work," he told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma, even as six members of his advance team tested positive for COVID-19. The world's largest economy is taking a beating in a year when Trump seeks re-election. Trump had downplayed the risk that the evening rally might trigger a coronavirus outbreak, ignoring danger warnings by Tulsa health and municipal officials. After the president had boasted on Twitter that "almost one million people" had requested tickets for the rally, the 20,000-capacity arena was far from full, with many upper deck seats empty. The United States remains the country hardest-hit by the pandemic with 119,719 deaths out of 2,254,630 official cases, according to a tally Saturday by Johns Hopkins University. With nearly 50,000 deaths and more than one million cases, Brazil is the second worst-affected. In total Latin America and the Caribbean have 2,007,621 confirmed cases, according to an AFP tally based on official tallies. The figures were particularly alarming in Chile, where the death toll nearly doubled to more than 7,000 under a revised tallying method, and passed 20,000 in Mexico. Europe meanwhile chalked up more than 2.5 million cases. Although the spread has slowed, Europe is still the worst-affected continent. The continent is easing its way out of strict lockdowns, even as the World Health Organization warns against giving in to isolation fatigue. Spain on Sunday reopens its borders to European Union countries in a bid to gets its tourism industry back up and running after lifting its state of emergency. British tourists will also be allowed in without having to quarantine, the Spanish foreign minister said. As his country emerges from a 14-week lockdown, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that Spain remained vulnerable to the virus, which has claimed more than 28,000 lives there. "We must remain on our guard and strictly follow hygiene and protection measures," he warned hours before the borders opened. In France, millions more children were preparing to return to school on Monday after three months away. "I cried with joy when I got the confirmation from the teacher that my two children would be going back to school full time," said Noemie from the southern city of Nice. France is also reopening cinemas from Monday and stadiums for team sports, and in another sign of returning normality, actors have also started kissing again on film shoots. A vaccine remains months off at best despite several trials, and scientists are still learning more about the virus, its symptoms and the extent to which it may have spread before being identified. "The world is in a new and dangerous phase," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Friday. "Many people are understandably fed up with being at home... but the virus is still spreading fast." The virus has now killed more than 461,000 people and infected 8.7 million worldwide. The Palestinian Authority announced Saturday it was temporarily closing the cities of Hebron and Nablus in the occupied West Bank after a sharp rise in infections. Only goods will be allowed in, Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told journalists. Authorities have reported a total of 687 cases in the West Bank, including two deaths so far.

Coronavirus: Latin America cases pass two million as Trump rally defies virus

Latin America and the Caribbean on Monday passed 80,000 COVID-19 deaths, as the worldwide COVID-19 cases topped 8 million. Since the disease first spread in Latin America in March, a total of 80,505 deaths have been recorded, 43,959 of them in Brazil which has the world's second-highest number of fatalities after the United States.

Latin America and the Caribbean on Monday passed 80,000 COVID-19 deaths, as the worldwide COVID-19 cases topped 8 million. Since the disease first spread in Latin America in March, a total of 80,505 deaths have been recorded, 43,959 of them in Brazil which has the world's second-highest number of fatalities after the United States. Brazil has more than half of the deaths in Latin America as s the virus accelerates across the region. The number of cases reported in Latin America and the Caribbean now stands at 1,681,378. Also read: Brazil records second highest COVID-19 cases as Bolsonaro downplays it as 'little flu In Brazil, a country of 212 million, 888,271 people have been infected -- more than in all of Asia. Mexico, which has a population of 120 million, has Latin America's second-highest death toll, with 17,141 fatalities out of 146,837 cases. Peru has recorded 6,688 deaths while Chile, which has seen an acceleration in recent weeks, has nearly 180,000 cases and 3,362 deaths. More than eight million cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide. Also read: Coronavirus: Brazil surpasses the United States in terms of daily death toll At least 8,000,202 infections including 435,176 deaths, mostly in Europe, have been registered since the pandemic first emerged in China late last year. The number of confirmed cases likely represents only a fraction of the real number because most countries are only testing the most serious cases or have limited testing capacity. (With inputs from Reuters)

Latin America and Caribbean pass 80,000 COVID-19 deaths as global cases top 8 million

Tropical Cyclones occurs in between 23 half degree North and South latitude due to convection cycle that tends to lift warm air and suppress cooler air that creates low pressure zone in the middle of the cyclone and higher zone on the outskirts. Generally these cyclones are categorised under destructive ones as the coriolis force that creates pressure on trade winds to move in right in Northern Hemisphere and Left in Southern Hemisphere creates a vortex of high speed winds.

Tropical Cyclone Amanda: National Emergency for 15 days declared in El Salvador

Venezuelan migrants in Chile have been forced out onto the street, unable to work amid lockdown and unable to return home due to the region's shuttered borders.

Fineprint: Venezuelan migrants left homeless | COVID-19 Pandemic

The virus is spreading rapidly across Latin America as well and the death toll has surged passed 15,000. Watch report.

Latin America battles coronavirus outbreak | COVID-19 Pandemic

Mexicans cheer and sing "A Song of Joy" every night to express their admiration for the medical staff, who are fighting the coronavirus in the Latin American country.

Mexicans serenade healthcare workers from balconies with "A Song of Joy"

Ecuador is 3rd worst affected nation of COVID-19 in Latin America. Ecuador is a country straddling the equator on South America’s west coast. It has reported 3,465 positive cases so far.

Ecuador is 3rd worst affected nation of COVID-19 in Latin America, 3465 cases reported so far

'A day without us': Women stage protest by absence against femicide

The central government will be taking the second batch of foreign delegation members to Jammu and Kashmir on January 9. The envoys would be from a diverse set of groupings such as the European Union, ASIAN and Latin America. #JammuAndKashmir #ASIAN #ForeignDelegation

Fineprint: Second batch of foreign delegates to visit India

Mexico on Monday accused Bolivia of intimidating its diplomats while <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bolivias-morales-arrives-in-argentina-to-get-refugee-status-268008">Bolivia</a> said Mexico had hijacked a regional summit and dragged its feet in recognizing its new, conservative premier.&nbsp;

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it was "deeply concerned" about "excessive" surveillance of the Mexican ambassador's residence and Mexican embassy in Bolivia by about 150 Bolivian intelligence and security service personnel.

In a letter to the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bolivias-morales-arrives-in-argentina-to-get-refugee-status-268008">Organization of American States</a> (OAS), Mexico said the Bolivians were "intimidating" diplomatic staff and attempted to "detain and inspect" the ambassador's vehicle on Monday.

Bolivia has tilted rightward since former&nbsp;socialist President Evo Morales resigned in November after a presidential election which the OAS said was <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bolivia-election-rigging-in-favour-of-morales-was-overwhelming-oas-final-report-266281">rigged</a> in his favor. Bolivia is currently governed by interim President Jeanine Añez, a former conservative senator and opponent of Morales.

Mexico's leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador granted asylum to Morales, and he is now in Argentina where the new Peronist government of President Alberto Fernandez has indicated it will also give him political asylum.

On Monday, Bolivia's foreign ministry said it was considering pulling out of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) because Mexico, the 2020 president of the organization, made plans this year during Bolivia's presidency for a meeting on January&nbsp;8.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/175-children-abused-by-mexican-branch-of-catholic-church-report-269567">Mexico</a> had also been guilty of "unfriendly conduct" and had shown itself to be "reluctant" to recognize the Añez presidency, it added.&nbsp;

Bolivian Foreign Minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bolivia-reforges-us-ties-as-political-alliances-redrawn-264972">Karen Longaric</a> said she would not attend the January&nbsp;8 meeting in Mexico. "We will see if in the future we will remain part of CELAC or not," she told journalists at a news conference in La Paz.

Mexico on Monday accused Bolivia of intimidating its diplomats while Bolivia said Mexico had hijacked a regional summit and dragged its feet in recognizing its new, conservative premier.

Mexico on Monday accused Bolivia of intimidating its diplomats while Bolivia said Mexico had hijacked a regional summit and dragged its feet in recognizing its new, conservative premier. Mexico's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it was "deeply concerned" about "excessive" surveillance of the Mexican ambassador's residence and Mexican embassy in Bolivia by about 150 Bolivian intelligence and security service personnel. In a letter to the Organization of American States (OAS), Mexico said the Bolivians were "intimidating" diplomatic staff and attempted to "detain and inspect" the ambassador's vehicle on Monday. Bolivia has tilted rightward since former socialist President Evo Morales resigned in November after a presidential election which the OAS said was rigged in his favor. Bolivia is currently governed by interim President Jeanine Añez, a former conservative senator and opponent of Morales. Mexico's leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador granted asylum to Morales, and he is now in Argentina where the new Peronist government of President Alberto Fernandez has indicated it will also give him political asylum. On Monday, Bolivia's foreign ministry said it was considering pulling out of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) because Mexico, the 2020 president of the organization, made plans this year during Bolivia's presidency for a meeting on January 8. Mexico had also been guilty of "unfriendly conduct" and had shown itself to be "reluctant" to recognize the Añez presidency, it added. Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric said she would not attend the January 8 meeting in Mexico. "We will see if in the future we will remain part of CELAC or not," she told journalists at a news conference in La Paz.

Mexico accuses Bolivia of intimidating diplomats in La Paz

Chilean President Sebastian&nbsp;Pinera&nbsp;said Tuesday he will not&nbsp;resign&nbsp;in the face of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mega-rally-marks-chile-protests-third-week-as-president-struggles-259970">deadly&nbsp;protests</a>&nbsp;over&nbsp;inequality and poor social conditions that have entered their third week.

Asked by the BBC in an interview whether he will step down, the billionaire conservative&nbsp;leader&nbsp;said: "No."

"These problems have been accumulating for the past 30 years,"&nbsp;Pinera&nbsp;said. "I am responsible (for) part of it and I assume my responsiblity, but I'm not the only one."

Fresh clashes broke out Tuesday, adding to the violence gripping one of Latin America's most prosperous countries. It has forced the government to cancel two major international economic and climate summits and open talks with the leftist opposition.

Thousands of protesters took the streets in the capital, and in the southern cities of Concepcion and Vina del Mar, west of Santiago.

Police firing birdshot injured two students among a group trying to overrun a public high school in Santiago, police said. The students were treated at a hospital and released.

Citing public order fears, South American football chiefs announced they were switching the venue for a major continental soccer final from Santiago.

This month's showpiece Copa Libertadores final will now be held in the Peruvian capital Lima, soccer authority CONMEBOL said after meeting in Paraguay.

"The choice is based on the offer of the government of Peru, and on the security guarantees it has given," it said in a statement.

Prosecutors say 20 people have died in unrest since the&nbsp;protests&nbsp;began here on October 20.

A UN human rights mission is investigating allegations of police brutality.

Chile's football federation earlier Tuesday called off a November 15 international friendly in Santiago with Bolivia.

In his interview,&nbsp;Pinera&nbsp;defended his decision to declare a state of emergency but promised to look into allegations of police violence and abuse.

The interview came as the president announced a package of measures for small and medium-sized businesses hit by the unrest.

Some 6,800 companies affected by rioting, looting and fires will benefit from financial aid and tax deductions.

Demonstrators and riot police clashed again in the capital Santiago on Tuesday, when around 2,000 people gathered in the capital.

The&nbsp;protests&nbsp;and violence were on a smaller scale to Monday's huge rally marking the beginning of a third week of&nbsp;protests&nbsp;in Santiago.

On Monday, tens of thousands of people gathered in the Plaza de Italia, the epicenter of the unrest&nbsp;over&nbsp;economic inequality and a raft of other social woes, and tried to march on the presidential palace in downtown Santiago.

Fights broke out with police trying to contain them, with officers firing water cannon and tear gas. One officer was hit in the face with a Molotov cocktail.

Looting and vandalism were reported in the cities of Vina del Mar, Valparaiso and Concepcion.

Protesters organized rallies on Monday under the slogan "This is not&nbsp;over."

Some citizens returned to work despite vandalism that has damaged the underground train network.

"There are many alleged complaints about excessive use of force and if that took place I can guarantee you that it will be investigated,"&nbsp;Pinera&nbsp;said.

"There will be no impunity," he said, defending the stepped up security measures as "democratic and constitutional."

Pinera&nbsp;held inconclusive talks with opposition parties last week but made no reference to them in segments of the interview aired by the BBC.

Protesters are calling for constitutional reform.&nbsp;Chile's current constitution dates back to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

A survey by pollster Cadem published on Sunday indicated that 87 per cent of Chileans favored such reforms.

The study indicated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/support-for-chiles-pinera-lowest-for-president-since-pinochet-era-poll-258433">Pinera's approval rating</a> had plunged to 13 per cent.

The government said&nbsp;Chile's economy grew three per cent in September but it forecast a contraction of 0.5 per cent in October due to the unrest.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Tuesday he will not resign in the face of deadly protests over inequality and poor social conditions that have entered their third week.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Tuesday he will not resign in the face of deadly protests over inequality and poor social conditions that have entered their third week. Asked by the BBC in an interview whether he will step down, the billionaire conservative leader said: "No." "These problems have been accumulating for the past 30 years," Pinera said. "I am responsible (for) part of it and I assume my responsiblity, but I'm not the only one." Fresh clashes broke out Tuesday, adding to the violence gripping one of Latin America's most prosperous countries. It has forced the government to cancel two major international economic and climate summits and open talks with the leftist opposition. Thousands of protesters took the streets in the capital, and in the southern cities of Concepcion and Vina del Mar, west of Santiago. Police firing birdshot injured two students among a group trying to overrun a public high school in Santiago, police said. The students were treated at a hospital and released. Citing public order fears, South American football chiefs announced they were switching the venue for a major continental soccer final from Santiago. This month's showpiece Copa Libertadores final will now be held in the Peruvian capital Lima, soccer authority CONMEBOL said after meeting in Paraguay. "The choice is based on the offer of the government of Peru, and on the security guarantees it has given," it said in a statement. Prosecutors say 20 people have died in unrest since the protests began here on October 20. A UN human rights mission is investigating allegations of police brutality. Chile's football federation earlier Tuesday called off a November 15 international friendly in Santiago with Bolivia. In his interview, Pinera defended his decision to declare a state of emergency but promised to look into allegations of police violence and abuse. The interview came as the president announced a package of measures for small and medium-sized businesses hit by the unrest. Some 6,800 companies affected by rioting, looting and fires will benefit from financial aid and tax deductions. Demonstrators and riot police clashed again in the capital Santiago on Tuesday, when around 2,000 people gathered in the capital. The protests and violence were on a smaller scale to Monday's huge rally marking the beginning of a third week of protests in Santiago. On Monday, tens of thousands of people gathered in the Plaza de Italia, the epicenter of the unrest over economic inequality and a raft of other social woes, and tried to march on the presidential palace in downtown Santiago. Fights broke out with police trying to contain them, with officers firing water cannon and tear gas. One officer was hit in the face with a Molotov cocktail. Looting and vandalism were reported in the cities of Vina del Mar, Valparaiso and Concepcion. Protesters organized rallies on Monday under the slogan "This is not over." Some citizens returned to work despite vandalism that has damaged the underground train network. "There are many alleged complaints about excessive use of force and if that took place I can guarantee you that it will be investigated," Pinera said. "There will be no impunity," he said, defending the stepped up security measures as "democratic and constitutional." Pinera held inconclusive talks with opposition parties last week but made no reference to them in segments of the interview aired by the BBC. Protesters are calling for constitutional reform. Chile's current constitution dates back to the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. A survey by pollster Cadem published on Sunday indicated that 87 per cent of Chileans favored such reforms. The study indicated Pinera's approval rating had plunged to 13 per cent. The government said Chile's economy grew three per cent in September but it forecast a contraction of 0.5 per cent in October due to the unrest.

Chile leader Pinera says will not resign over protests

From the streets of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chile-president-lifts-state-of-emergency-protests-continue-258441">Santiago and Quito</a> to the ballot boxes of Buenos Aires, many South Americans have strongly rejected in recent weeks their leaders' free-market agendas, amid outcry that they are fueling inequality across the region.

With economic growth slowing sharply, job security fraying and holes in social safety nets widening, a wave of protest has arisen, spanning millions of people across the continent.

The end of the 'pink tide' of leftist leaders that swept Latin America in the 2000s gave way in recent years to a series of more broadly conservative governments.

But while each country has its own issues, there has been a common backlash against the "market-friendly" policies pursued by some of those governments,&nbsp;such as the privatising of state assets, reduction of public subsidies, and exposure of more aspects of society to market forces.

In Chile, which introduced market reforms long before the rest of the region and is seen by many as a poster child of neoliberalism, some 1 million people marched on Friday to protest the conservative economic agenda of billionaire President Sebastian Pinera, the largest protest since the country's return to democracy in 1990.

That followed a week of riots in which at least 18 people were killed. The unrest began after the government raised the price of metro fares, but reflected long-simmering anger at its failure to alter Chile's economic course despite growing inequality.

"There are two Chiles here. The Chile of people with money, and the Chile of the poor," said Nathaly Melendez, 28, a manicurist in Santiago. "If you don't have money, you have to wait in long lines for healthcare, education is terrible, students are all in debt."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chilean-president-vows-major-reshuffle-after-week-of-protests-258314">The protests in Chile</a> came hot on the heels of violent demonstrations in Ecuador sparked by a proposed cut to decades-old fuel subsidies, which forced the government to temporarily relocate the capital to Guayaquil.

And in perhaps the most emphatic rejection of austerity and business-friendly reforms, Argentine voters on Sunday removed conservative President Mauricio Macri in favour of Peronist Alberto Fernandez - a landslide backing for a decidedly more protectionist agenda.

Branko Milanovic, visiting professor at The City University of New York and an expert on inequality, said the uneven effects of globalisation had sown discontent in Latin America.

Globalisation in recent decades brought a surge in low-cost products from emerging countries like China and expanded the export markets for Latin America's commodities, helping to fuel economic growth, but many across the region feel the rewards have accrued mostly to the wealthy.

By some measures, Chile is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America, though it also has the highest average income. According to Milanovic, the combined wealth of Chilean billionaires in 2015 was equal to a quarter of gross domestic product - the highest in the world, excluding tax havens like Cyprus, and around double the level of Mexico and Peru.

"If there is no social justice and minimum of social cohesion, the effects of growth will dissolve in grief, demonstrations, and yes, in the shooting of people," Milanovic wrote.

Leftist leaders have been galvanized by the backlash. Evo Morales, Bolivia's socialist leader now facing widespread protests after a disputed election win this month, has looked to rally his supporters with warnings about the return of neoliberalism should he lose power.

Creomar De Souza, the founder of Brasilia-based consultancy Dharma Political Risk And Strategy, said the longer-term policy impact of the upheavals was not yet clear.

"But in some of these countries, Argentina and maybe Bolivia, the economy will take a more heterodox turn, with a greater role for the state," De Souza said. "Pinera will try to endorse some social reforms in Chile, but the legitimacy of that generation of politicians is under threat." 
 
People getting poorer

The unrest coincides with a slide in Latin American economic growth in the wake of a long <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/one-million-chileans-march-in-santiago-city-grinds-to-halt-258235">commodities-driven boom</a>. The International Monetary Fund this month slashed its growth forecasts for the region this year to a dismal 0.2 per cent,&nbsp;the second-lowest rate in the world, behind the Middle East and North Africa's 0.1 per cent.

While many people globally feel poorer as the world economy slows, in Latin America it is actually true, according to World Bank figures.

The Bank uses a variety of measures to track GDP per capita, depending on exchange rate fluctuations, and most of them suggest it is lower in the region today than it was five years ago.

According to its measure using current US&nbsp;dollars, GDP per capita in Latin America last year was $9,023, down 13 per cent&nbsp;from the peak of $10,405 in 2014.

The process is not helped by the government's efforts in countries like Argentina, Chile and Brazil to reduce budget deficits.

Ana Lia Agullo, a 69-year old retiree in Buenos Aires, said Argentina's new government needed to refocus on employment, health and education, "the pillars of every society."

"It's totally different from Macri's supposed model, which is obviously not a model at all but rather a big-business trick typical of people belonging to his class," she said.

Moody's warned that social pressure would likely also force Pinera to ease efforts to reduce the deficit and stop Chile's debt growing.

Opposition to Chile's direction may be of particular interest for Brazil watchers, given that Economy Minister Paulo Guedes is a devotee of its economic model.

An orthodox University of Chicago-trained economist, Guedes failed in his attempt to introduce a pension system in Brazil based on the Chilean model of private savings accounts,&nbsp;though his reform, passed this month, will save the public purse $200 billion&nbsp;over the next decade by raising the minimum retirement age and increasing workers' contributions.

The remainder of his reform agenda, which includes labour market deregulation and ramping up privatisation, may face increased political resistance.

Memories linger of Brazil's brutal recession in 2015-16 as well as last year's truckers' strike over diesel price hikes that brought the country to a standstill. So far, there is no sign of people taking to the streets again in Brazil, but the political mood appears to be turning against Guedes' agenda.

Centre-right lawmaker Marcelo Ramos said Brazil needed investment to grow again, but it also needed to tackle inequality.

The inequality "keeps millions of Brazilians from being consumers and demands heavy social spending on unemployed, discouraged and underutilised workers," he said.

From the streets of Santiago and Quito to the ballot boxes of Buenos Aires, many South Americans have strongly rejected in recent weeks their leaders' free-market agendas, amid outcry that they are fueling inequality across the region.

From the streets of Santiago and Quito to the ballot boxes of Buenos Aires, many South Americans have strongly rejected in recent weeks their leaders' free-market agendas, amid outcry that they are fueling inequality across the region. With economic growth slowing sharply, job security fraying and holes in social safety nets widening, a wave of protest has arisen, spanning millions of people across the continent. The end of the 'pink tide' of leftist leaders that swept Latin America in the 2000s gave way in recent years to a series of more broadly conservative governments. But while each country has its own issues, there has been a common backlash against the "market-friendly" policies pursued by some of those governments, such as the privatising of state assets, reduction of public subsidies, and exposure of more aspects of society to market forces. In Chile, which introduced market reforms long before the rest of the region and is seen by many as a poster child of neoliberalism, some 1 million people marched on Friday to protest the conservative economic agenda of billionaire President Sebastian Pinera, the largest protest since the country's return to democracy in 1990. That followed a week of riots in which at least 18 people were killed. The unrest began after the government raised the price of metro fares, but reflected long-simmering anger at its failure to alter Chile's economic course despite growing inequality. "There are two Chiles here. The Chile of people with money, and the Chile of the poor," said Nathaly Melendez, 28, a manicurist in Santiago. "If you don't have money, you have to wait in long lines for healthcare, education is terrible, students are all in debt." The protests in Chile came hot on the heels of violent demonstrations in Ecuador sparked by a proposed cut to decades-old fuel subsidies, which forced the government to temporarily relocate the capital to Guayaquil. And in perhaps the most emphatic rejection of austerity and business-friendly reforms, Argentine voters on Sunday removed conservative President Mauricio Macri in favour of Peronist Alberto Fernandez - a landslide backing for a decidedly more protectionist agenda. Branko Milanovic, visiting professor at The City University of New York and an expert on inequality, said the uneven effects of globalisation had sown discontent in Latin America. Globalisation in recent decades brought a surge in low-cost products from emerging countries like China and expanded the export markets for Latin America's commodities, helping to fuel economic growth, but many across the region feel the rewards have accrued mostly to the wealthy. By some measures, Chile is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America, though it also has the highest average income. According to Milanovic, the combined wealth of Chilean billionaires in 2015 was equal to a quarter of gross domestic product - the highest in the world, excluding tax havens like Cyprus, and around double the level of Mexico and Peru. "If there is no social justice and minimum of social cohesion, the effects of growth will dissolve in grief, demonstrations, and yes, in the shooting of people," Milanovic wrote. Leftist leaders have been galvanized by the backlash. Evo Morales, Bolivia's socialist leader now facing widespread protests after a disputed election win this month, has looked to rally his supporters with warnings about the return of neoliberalism should he lose power. Creomar De Souza, the founder of Brasilia-based consultancy Dharma Political Risk And Strategy, said the longer-term policy impact of the upheavals was not yet clear. "But in some of these countries, Argentina and maybe Bolivia, the economy will take a more heterodox turn, with a greater role for the state," De Souza said. "Pinera will try to endorse some social reforms in Chile, but the legitimacy of that generation of politicians is under threat." People getting poorer The unrest coincides with a slide in Latin American economic growth in the wake of a long commodities-driven boom. The International Monetary Fund this month slashed its growth forecasts for the region this year to a dismal 0.2 per cent, the second-lowest rate in the world, behind the Middle East and North Africa's 0.1 per cent. While many people globally feel poorer as the world economy slows, in Latin America it is actually true, according to World Bank figures. The Bank uses a variety of measures to track GDP per capita, depending on exchange rate fluctuations, and most of them suggest it is lower in the region today than it was five years ago. According to its measure using current US dollars, GDP per capita in Latin America last year was $9,023, down 13 per cent from the peak of $10,405 in 2014. The process is not helped by the government's efforts in countries like Argentina, Chile and Brazil to reduce budget deficits. Ana Lia Agullo, a 69-year old retiree in Buenos Aires, said Argentina's new government needed to refocus on employment, health and education, "the pillars of every society." "It's totally different from Macri's supposed model, which is obviously not a model at all but rather a big-business trick typical of people belonging to his class," she said. Moody's warned that social pressure would likely also force Pinera to ease efforts to reduce the deficit and stop Chile's debt growing. Opposition to Chile's direction may be of particular interest for Brazil watchers, given that Economy Minister Paulo Guedes is a devotee of its economic model. An orthodox University of Chicago-trained economist, Guedes failed in his attempt to introduce a pension system in Brazil based on the Chilean model of private savings accounts, though his reform, passed this month, will save the public purse $200 billion over the next decade by raising the minimum retirement age and increasing workers' contributions. The remainder of his reform agenda, which includes labour market deregulation and ramping up privatisation, may face increased political resistance. Memories linger of Brazil's brutal recession in 2015-16 as well as last year's truckers' strike over diesel price hikes that brought the country to a standstill. So far, there is no sign of people taking to the streets again in Brazil, but the political mood appears to be turning against Guedes' agenda. Centre-right lawmaker Marcelo Ramos said Brazil needed investment to grow again, but it also needed to tackle inequality. The inequality "keeps millions of Brazilians from being consumers and demands heavy social spending on unemployed, discouraged and underutilised workers," he said.

Protests, elections show Latin America tide turning against pro-market agenda

Chile, known as one of Latin America's wealthiest, most stable and peaceful countries, is in the grip of political and economic upheaval with thousands of people protesting since Oct. 6 after the government increased public transportation fares.

Chile Anti-Govt protests escalate

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday voted to send a team of investigators to probe alleged violations, including extrajudicial executions and torture, in crisis-wracked Venezuela.

A resolution tabled by more than a dozen countries from Latin America and elsewhere was adopted by the 47-member council with 19 votes in favour, seven opposed and 21 abstaining.

It called for the U.N.'s top rights body to "dispatch urgently an independent international fact-finding mission" to Venezuela.

The mission, the text said, should "investigate extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".

"Venezuelans, men and women, cannot wait any longer" for justice, said the representative of Peru, on behalf of the sponsoring nations, who also included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Israel.

The one-year mission should carry out its investigation "with a view to ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims," said the text, which also received the backing of the European Union.

Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Valero slammed the resolution as a "hostile initiative", and said his country had no intention of cooperating with the new probe.

"The imposition of an additional monitoring mechanism will never receive the consent of my country," he told the council.

Even when they are not granted access to a country, U.N. investigators can nonetheless carry out probes from abroad, as has been the case with investigations into abuses in Syria and Myanmar.

'Systematic abuse'&nbsp;

The investigative team will be expected to present a report to the council in a year.

Venezuela is caught in an economic crisis and a political standoff between President Nicolas Maduro's government and National Assembly leader Juan Guaido.

The oil-rich country suffers from hyperinflation and shortages of basic goods from food to medicine, a crisis that has forced some 3.6 million people to flee since 2016.

Friday's resolution deplored "the systematic abuse of state institutions accelerating the erosion of the rule of law and of democratic institutions" in Venezuela.

It also urged Caracas to release all "political prisoners" and voiced "grave concern" over UN rights office findings in July suggesting that many of the more than 6,000 killings in alleged confrontations with state forces since early 2018 may, in fact, have been "executions".

"It must be clear to all at this Council that when violations of this gravity and scale are reported to us, we must respond in an equally serious manner," British Ambassador Julian Braithwaite, whose country backed the resolution, told the council.

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday voted to send a team of investigators to probe alleged violations, including extrajudicial executions and torture, in crisis-wracked Venezuela.

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday voted to send a team of investigators to probe alleged violations, including extrajudicial executions and torture, in crisis-wracked Venezuela. A resolution tabled by more than a dozen countries from Latin America and elsewhere was adopted by the 47-member council with 19 votes in favour, seven opposed and 21 abstaining. It called for the U.N.'s top rights body to "dispatch urgently an independent international fact-finding mission" to Venezuela. The mission, the text said, should "investigate extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment". "Venezuelans, men and women, cannot wait any longer" for justice, said the representative of Peru, on behalf of the sponsoring nations, who also included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Israel. The one-year mission should carry out its investigation "with a view to ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims," said the text, which also received the backing of the European Union. Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Valero slammed the resolution as a "hostile initiative", and said his country had no intention of cooperating with the new probe. "The imposition of an additional monitoring mechanism will never receive the consent of my country," he told the council. Even when they are not granted access to a country, U.N. investigators can nonetheless carry out probes from abroad, as has been the case with investigations into abuses in Syria and Myanmar. 'Systematic abuse' The investigative team will be expected to present a report to the council in a year. Venezuela is caught in an economic crisis and a political standoff between President Nicolas Maduro's government and National Assembly leader Juan Guaido. The oil-rich country suffers from hyperinflation and shortages of basic goods from food to medicine, a crisis that has forced some 3.6 million people to flee since 2016. Friday's resolution deplored "the systematic abuse of state institutions accelerating the erosion of the rule of law and of democratic institutions" in Venezuela. It also urged Caracas to release all "political prisoners" and voiced "grave concern" over UN rights office findings in July suggesting that many of the more than 6,000 killings in alleged confrontations with state forces since early 2018 may, in fact, have been "executions". "It must be clear to all at this Council that when violations of this gravity and scale are reported to us, we must respond in an equally serious manner," British Ambassador Julian Braithwaite, whose country backed the resolution, told the council.

United Nations launches probe into Venezuela rights abuses

Thousands protested outside Brazil's embassies across Latin America on Friday calling for great protection for the Amazon amidst raging wildfires. Brazilian expats joined locals in Mexico City to denounce right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the fires.

Thousands protested outside Brazil's embassies across Latin America on Friday calling for great protection for the Amazon amidst raging wildfires. Brazilian expats joined locals in Mexico City to denounce right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the fires. Similar scenes were repeated in Santiago, Chile and Quito, Ecuador. Brazil shares the Amazon with other Latin American nations such as Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. Protesters blame Bolsonaro for undermining protection of the world's largest tropical rainforest and turning a blind eye to illegal deforestation by farmers and land grabbers. The wildfires have sparked international criticism of Bolsonaro's handling of the destruction of the rainforest, which produces more than 20% of the oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere and is considered a vital brake on climate change. Bolsonaro has vowed to open up the Amazon region to more agriculture and mining, even on indigenous reservations that are seen as the most protected parts of the rainforest. This week French President Emmanuel Macron and U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed concerns about wildfires that are raging in the Amazon, but Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has responded angrily to international pressure as meddling.

Thousands protest across Latin America against Bolsonaro's handling of Amazon amid raging wildfires

A building in a northern Peruvian town was set on fire on Friday in a protest against China National Petroleum Corp that devolved into clashes between police and demonstrators who want the company to make pledges to help the local community, an industry source said.

A building in a northern Peruvian town was set on fire on Friday in a protest against China National Petroleum Corp that devolved into clashes between police and demonstrators who want the company to make pledges to help the local community, an industry source said. The unrest follows the breakdown of talks between the company and residents in the district of El Alto, in a desert coastal region near three offshore oil blocks that CNPC operates. Residents want CNPC to agree to a series of commitments to local development, including a guarantee that it will 100 jobs for young people, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There were no initial reports of deaths in the clashes, but the offices of a Bogota-based company that provides maintenance services to CNPC, Confipetrol, were set on fire, the source added. CNPC and Confipetrol could not immediately be reached for comment outside of normal business hours on Friday. TV images on local broadcaster Canal N showed black fumes spewing from a building in El Alto. The local firefighters' office declined to provide comment over the phone. Peru is rife with protests against mining and oil and natural gas operations, often turning deadly when police try to repel crowds from roads. But arson is rare. CNPC, which says it has operated offshore oil blocks in Peru since 1993, has largely steered clear of the kind of protests that have blocked billions of dollars in mining investments in one of Latin America's most stable economies. The unrest in El Alto is the latest flare-up in social conflicts that President Martin Vizcarra's government has struggled to contain in recent weeks. Protests continued on Friday against two major mining projects - copper mines proposed by Southern Copper Corp and Anglo American worth more than $6 billion - blocking roads in southern Peru. A spokeswoman for Peru's Energy and Mines Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CNPC's offshore oil blocks in northern Peru produce an average of 14,500 barrels of oil per day, according to the company's website.

Building set on fire in protest against China's CNPC in Peru

Chinese state-owned construction giant CCCC is preparing a bid to dredge Argentina's Parana River, the country's main cargo superhighway that takes soy and corn from the Pampas farm belt to the shipping lanes of the South Atlantic and the world.

Chinese state-owned construction giant CCCC is preparing a bid to dredge Argentina's Parana River, the country's main cargo superhighway that takes soy and corn from the Pampas farm belt to the shipping lanes of the South Atlantic and the world. Representatives of China Communications Construction Co Ltd and its Shanghai Dredging unit have met with Argentine government and local port officials to sound out the dredging concession, according to three people involved in the talks, which have not been previously reported. CCCC is at the forefront of China's push to lock in food supplies by investing in commodities transport hubs globally. Dredging the Parana is the biggest logistics contract in Argentina. China is already the main buyer of Argentine soybeans while Chinese state-owned conglomerate Cofco has, through acquisitions, become the biggest agricultural commodities exporter operating in Argentina. Shanghai Dredging's interest in the Parana appears part of China's broader effort to "invest across international agricultural supply chains to better control supply and pricing," said Margaret Myers, head of the Asia-Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. From 2005 through the first half of this year China invested about $579 billion internationally in the energy, power, transport and agricultural sectors, according to Washington-based American Enterprise Institute's Chinese Global Investment Tracker, of which $71 billion went to South America. There has been a flurry of meetings between the world's main dredging firms and port operators preparing a study of the river as a preliminary step to inviting bids next year, according to Argentina's Port and Maritime Activities Chamber and the ACSOJA soy industry chamber. The Parana carries 80 per cent of Argentine farm exports. Marcos De Vincenzi, dredging manager for Servimagnus, CCCC's local partner, acknowledged the Chinese firm's interest in the concession, saying, "We think that the dredging of the waterway must be upgraded to meet its new traffic and trade needs." As world food demand increases, Argentina will likely expand the Parana's navigable channel to accommodate increased cargo. Argentina is already the world's top exporter of soymeal livestock feed and a major global supplier of corn and wheat, and this week's crash of the Argentine peso, driven by political uncertainty ahead of the October presidential election, has made the country's farm exports more competitive. Argentina's transportation ministry declined to comment for this story, and CCCC officials in China did not respond to requests for comment. The Parana is dredged deep enough to allow ocean-going cargo ships to get into the heart of the grains belt, giving Argentina an advantage over agricultural rivals Brazil and the United States, where products move long distances by less-efficient trucks and barges before being loaded for export. GOING DEEPER The dredging concession, set for renewal in April 2021, involves keeping a channel in the river clear for cargo ships. In return, larger vessels pay up to $80,000 in tolls to travel to and from the grains hub of Rosario on the Parana. The current holder of the dredging concession is private, Luxembourg-based dredger Jan De Nul. The firm will compete with CCCC and other dredgers for the 2021 concession, according to industry sources with direct knowledge of the situation. In a meeting with port operators, Servimagnus offered to dredge the Parana deeper than its current 34 feet, without increasing tolls, said a ports source who attended the meeting and is involved in drawing up the tender. Each additional foot of depth would increase efficiency by allowing ships to carry 1,800 tonnes to 2,500 tonnes of additional cargo. "China is already our principal buyer of soybeans. For them to also have control over navigation would give them a very strong stance in negotiating prices," said the ports source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Myers, of the Inter-American Dialogue, said Argentine authorities should be wary of becoming over-reliant on investment or finance from anyone economic partner. "Extensive Chinese presence in critical sectors could give China undue influence over Argentine decision-making," she said. Others argue China could help to keep river cargo tolls down by bolstering competition among dredgers bidding for the job. "I see no problem in receiving offers from all serious companies around the world to make them compete," said Luis Zubizarreta, president of Argentina's ACSOJA soy industry organization that represents farmers, exporters and seed firms.

China set to deepen Argentine trade ties with a bid for grains 'superhighway'

Mexico's prickly pear cactus, which is emblazoned on the country's flag,&nbsp;could soon play a new and innovative role in the production of biodegradable plastics.

A packaging material that is made from the plant has been developed by a Mexican researcher and is offering a promising solution to one of the&nbsp;world's biggest pollution conundrums.

'The pulp is strained to obtain a juice that I then use,' said Sandra Pascoe, who developed the product and works at the Atemajac Valley University in the western city of Guadalajara.

That substance is then mixed with non-toxic additives and stretched to produce sheets that are coloured with pigments and folded to form different types of packaging.

'What we're doing is trying to concentrate on objects that don't have a long life,' she said, particularly "single-use" packaging.

Pascoe is still conducting tests but hopes to patent her product later this year and look for partners in early 2020, with an eye towards larger-scale production.

The cacti&nbsp;Pascoe uses for her experiments come from San Esteban, a small town on the outskirts of Guadalajara, where they grow by the hundreds.

San Esteban is located in Jalisco state where, starting next year, single-use non-recyclable plastic bags, straws and other disposable items will be banned.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/three-journalists-slain-in-mexico-in-a-week-240458">Mexico city</a>&nbsp;and states such as Baja California have also introduced similar measures.

In May, the capital city adopted a "historic" ban on plastic bags beginning in 2020.

From 2021, straws, plastic plates and cutlery, and balloons will also be banned if they're made "entirely or partially from plastic," according to the bill adopted by the local congress.

Pascoe says her new material would be no more than a "drop in the ocean" in the battle to preserve the environment.

Given the rampant production of industrial&nbsp;plastics&nbsp;and the time it takes to make her material, there would need to be "other recycling strategies" to make any concrete difference, she said.

Latin America and the Caribbean account for around 10 per cent of worldwide waste, according to United Nations figures.

In March, UN member states committed to "significantly reduce" single-use plastics over the next decade, although green groups warned that goal fell short of tackling the Earth's pollution crisis.

Plastic pollution has become a global concern, particularly after bans imposed by China and other countries on the import of plastic waste from overseas.

Despite widespread alarm on the environmental cost, Asia and the United States lifted&nbsp;world production of plastic last year while Europe saw a dip, according to numbers released by the PlasticsEurope federation in June.

More than eight million tons of plastics&nbsp;enter the&nbsp;world's oceans every year.

Mexico's prickly pear cactus, which is emblazoned on the country's flag, could soon play a new and innovative role in the production of biodegradable plastics. A packaging material that is made from the plant has been developed by a Mexican researcher and is offering a promising solution to one of the world's biggest pollution conundrums.

Mexico's prickly pear cactus, which is emblazoned on the country's flag, could soon play a new and innovative role in the production of biodegradable plastics. A packaging material that is made from the plant has been developed by a Mexican researcher and is offering a promising solution to one of the world's biggest pollution conundrums. 'The pulp is strained to obtain a juice that I then use,' said Sandra Pascoe, who developed the product and works at the Atemajac Valley University in the western city of Guadalajara. That substance is then mixed with non-toxic additives and stretched to produce sheets that are coloured with pigments and folded to form different types of packaging. 'What we're doing is trying to concentrate on objects that don't have a long life,' she said, particularly "single-use" packaging. Pascoe is still conducting tests but hopes to patent her product later this year and look for partners in early 2020, with an eye towards larger-scale production. The cacti Pascoe uses for her experiments come from San Esteban, a small town on the outskirts of Guadalajara, where they grow by the hundreds. San Esteban is located in Jalisco state where, starting next year, single-use non-recyclable plastic bags, straws and other disposable items will be banned. Mexico city and states such as Baja California have also introduced similar measures. In May, the capital city adopted a "historic" ban on plastic bags beginning in 2020. From 2021, straws, plastic plates and cutlery, and balloons will also be banned if they're made "entirely or partially from plastic," according to the bill adopted by the local congress. Pascoe says her new material would be no more than a "drop in the ocean" in the battle to preserve the environment. Given the rampant production of industrial plastics and the time it takes to make her material, there would need to be "other recycling strategies" to make any concrete difference, she said. Latin America and the Caribbean account for around 10 per cent of worldwide waste, according to United Nations figures. In March, UN member states committed to "significantly reduce" single-use plastics over the next decade, although green groups warned that goal fell short of tackling the Earth's pollution crisis. Plastic pollution has become a global concern, particularly after bans imposed by China and other countries on the import of plastic waste from overseas. Despite widespread alarm on the environmental cost, Asia and the United States lifted world production of plastic last year while Europe saw a dip, according to numbers released by the PlasticsEurope federation in June. More than eight million tons of plastics enter the world's oceans every year.

Could Mexico cactus solve world's plastics problem?

Marilyne Tatang, 23, crossed nine borders in two months to reach Mexico from the West African nation of Cameroon, fleeing political violence after police torched her house, she said.

She plans to soon take a bus north for four days and then cross the tenth border, into the United States. She is not alone - a record number of fellow Africans are flying to South America and then traversing thousands of miles of highway and a treacherous tropical rainforest to reach the United States.

Tatang, who is eight months pregnant, took a raft across a river into Mexico on June 8, a day after Mexico struck a deal with US&nbsp;President Donald Trump to do more to control the biggest flows of <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/mexico-hopes-to-reach-migration-deal-with-the-united-states-as-tariffs-loom-223935&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiyl_CF9J3jAhXP6nMBHWXtDy0QFjAAegQIABAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw30iaaMv3DCfndD5ZNPpJlq">migrants </a>heading north to the US&nbsp;border in more than a decade.

The migrants vying for entry at the US&nbsp;southern border are mainly Central Americans. But growing numbers from a handful of African countries are joining them, prompting calls from Trump and Mexico for other countries in Latin America to do their part to slow the overall flood of migrants.

As more Africans learn from relatives and friends who have made the trip that crossing Latin America to the United States is tough but not impossible, more are making the journey, and in turn are helping others follow in their footsteps, migration experts say.

Trump's threats to clamp down on migrants have ricocheted around the globe, paradoxically spurring some to exploit what they see as a narrowing window of opportunity, said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director for the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

"This message is being heard not just in Central America, but in other parts of the world," she said.

Data from Mexico's interior ministry suggests that migration from Africa this year will break records.

The number of Africans registered by Mexican authorities tripled in the first four months of 2019 compared with the same period a year ago, reaching about 1,900 people, mostly from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which remains deeply unstable years after the end of a bloody regional conflict with its neighbors that led to the deaths of millions of people.

'THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED ME'

Tatang, a grade school teacher, said she left northwest Cameroon due to worsening violence in the English-speaking region, where separatists are battling the mostly French-speaking government for autonomy.

"It was so bad that they burned the house where I was living ... they would have killed me," she said, referring to government forces who tried to capture her,'' she said.

At first, Tatang planned only to cross the border into Nigeria. Then she heard that some people had made it to the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/mexico-promises-unprecedented-steps-to-curb-migration-in-us-deal-joint-statement-225371&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiyl_CF9J3jAhXP6nMBHWXtDy0QFjACegQIDxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2rj-pLbF7Zb5fWQVfzXm4t">United States</a>.

"Someone would say, 'You can do this,'" she said. 'So I asked if it was possible for someone like me too because I'm pregnant. They said, 'Do this, do that.'"

Tatang begged her family for money for the journey, which she said so far has cost $5,000.

She said her route began with a flight to Ecuador, where Cameroonians don't need visas. Tatang went by bus and on foot through Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala until reaching Mexico.

She was still deciding what to do once she got to Mexico's northern border city of Tijuana, she said, cradling her belly while seated on a concrete bench outside migration offices in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula.

"I will just ask," she said. "I can't say, 'When I get there, I will do this.' I don't know. I've never been there."

Reuters spoke recently with five migrants in Tapachula who were from Cameroon, DRC and Angola. Several said they travelled to Brazil as a jumping-off point.

They were a small sampling of the hundreds of people - including Haitians, Cubans, Indians and Bangladeshis - clustered outside migration offices.

Political volatility in Cameroon and the DRC in recent years has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

People from the DRC made up the third-largest group of new refugees globally last year with about 123,000 people, according to the UN&nbsp;Refugee Agency, while Cameroon's internally displaced population grew by 447,000 people.

The number of undocumented African migrants found by authorities in Mexico quadrupled compared to five years ago, reaching nearly 3,000 people in 2018.

Most obtain a visa that allows them free passage through Mexico for 20 days, after which they cross into the United States and ask for asylum.

Few choose to seek asylum in Mexico, in part because they don't speak Spanish.

Tatang said the language barrier was especially frustrating because she speaks only English, making communication difficult both with Mexican migration officials and even other Africans, such as migrants from DRC who speak primarily French.

Those who reach the United States often send advice back home, helping make the journey easier for others, said Florence Kim, spokeswoman for the International Organisation for Migration in West and Central Africa.

Like their Central American migrant counterparts, some Africans are also showing up with families hoping for easier entries than as individuals, said Mittelstadt of the Migration Policy Institute.

US&nbsp;data shows a huge spike in the number of families from countries other than Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras at the US&nbsp;southern border.

Between last October and May 16,000 members of families were registered, up from 1,000 for the whole of 2018, according to an analysis by the MPI.

REGIONAL APPROACH

The gruelling Latin America trek forces migrants to spend at least a week trudging across swampland and hiking through mountainous rainforests in the lawless Darien Gap that is the only link between Panama and Colombia.

Still, the route has a key advantage&nbsp;Countries in the region typically do not deport migrants from other continents due in part to the steep costs and lack of repatriation agreements with their home countries.

That relaxed attitude could change, however.

Under a deal struck with the United States last month, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/mexico-to-discuss-safe-third-country-deal-with-us-if-migration-does-not-slow-226078&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiyl_CF9J3jAhXP6nMBHWXtDy0QFjAFegQIARAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw01vi3wq9-mXmxVRp7ZIEBf">Mexico </a>may start a process later this month to become a safe third country, making asylum seekers apply for refuge in Mexico and not the United States.

To lessen the load on Mexico, Mexico and the United States plan to put pressure on Central American nations to do more to prevent asylum seekers, including African migrants, from moving north.

For the moment, however, more Africans can be expected to attempt the journey, said IOM's Kim.

"They want to do something with their life. They feel they lack a future in their country," she said.

Marilyne Tatang, 23, crossed nine borders in two months to reach Mexico from the West African nation of Cameroon, fleeing political violence after police torched her house, she said.

Marilyne Tatang, 23, crossed nine borders in two months to reach Mexico from the West African nation of Cameroon, fleeing political violence after police torched her house, she said. She plans to soon take a bus north for four days and then cross the tenth border, into the United States. She is not alone - a record number of fellow Africans are flying to South America and then traversing thousands of miles of highway and a treacherous tropical rainforest to reach the United States. Tatang, who is eight months pregnant, took a raft across a river into Mexico on June 8, a day after Mexico struck a deal with US President Donald Trump to do more to control the biggest flows of migrants heading north to the US border in more than a decade. The migrants vying for entry at the US southern border are mainly Central Americans. But growing numbers from a handful of African countries are joining them, prompting calls from Trump and Mexico for other countries in Latin America to do their part to slow the overall flood of migrants. As more Africans learn from relatives and friends who have made the trip that crossing Latin America to the United States is tough but not impossible, more are making the journey, and in turn are helping others follow in their footsteps, migration experts say. Trump's threats to clamp down on migrants have ricocheted around the globe, paradoxically spurring some to exploit what they see as a narrowing window of opportunity, said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director for the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "This message is being heard not just in Central America, but in other parts of the world," she said. Data from Mexico's interior ministry suggests that migration from Africa this year will break records. The number of Africans registered by Mexican authorities tripled in the first four months of 2019 compared with the same period a year ago, reaching about 1,900 people, mostly from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which remains deeply unstable years after the end of a bloody regional conflict with its neighbors that led to the deaths of millions of people. 'THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED ME' Tatang, a grade school teacher, said she left northwest Cameroon due to worsening violence in the English-speaking region, where separatists are battling the mostly French-speaking government for autonomy. "It was so bad that they burned the house where I was living ... they would have killed me," she said, referring to government forces who tried to capture her,'' she said. At first, Tatang planned only to cross the border into Nigeria. Then she heard that some people had made it to the United States. "Someone would say, 'You can do this,'" she said. 'So I asked if it was possible for someone like me too because I'm pregnant. They said, 'Do this, do that.'" Tatang begged her family for money for the journey, which she said so far has cost $5,000. She said her route began with a flight to Ecuador, where Cameroonians don't need visas. Tatang went by bus and on foot through Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala until reaching Mexico. She was still deciding what to do once she got to Mexico's northern border city of Tijuana, she said, cradling her belly while seated on a concrete bench outside migration offices in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula. "I will just ask," she said. "I can't say, 'When I get there, I will do this.' I don't know. I've never been there." Reuters spoke recently with five migrants in Tapachula who were from Cameroon, DRC and Angola. Several said they travelled to Brazil as a jumping-off point. They were a small sampling of the hundreds of people - including Haitians, Cubans, Indians and Bangladeshis - clustered outside migration offices. Political volatility in Cameroon and the DRC in recent years has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. People from the DRC made up the third-largest group of new refugees globally last year with about 123,000 people, according to the UN Refugee Agency, while Cameroon's internally displaced population grew by 447,000 people. The number of undocumented African migrants found by authorities in Mexico quadrupled compared to five years ago, reaching nearly 3,000 people in 2018. Most obtain a visa that allows them free passage through Mexico for 20 days, after which they cross into the United States and ask for asylum. Few choose to seek asylum in Mexico, in part because they don't speak Spanish. Tatang said the language barrier was especially frustrating because she speaks only English, making communication difficult both with Mexican migration officials and even other Africans, such as migrants from DRC who speak primarily French. Those who reach the United States often send advice back home, helping make the journey easier for others, said Florence Kim, spokeswoman for the International Organisation for Migration in West and Central Africa. Like their Central American migrant counterparts, some Africans are also showing up with families hoping for easier entries than as individuals, said Mittelstadt of the Migration Policy Institute. US data shows a huge spike in the number of families from countries other than Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras at the US southern border. Between last October and May 16,000 members of families were registered, up from 1,000 for the whole of 2018, according to an analysis by the MPI. REGIONAL APPROACH The gruelling Latin America trek forces migrants to spend at least a week trudging across swampland and hiking through mountainous rainforests in the lawless Darien Gap that is the only link between Panama and Colombia. Still, the route has a key advantage Countries in the region typically do not deport migrants from other continents due in part to the steep costs and lack of repatriation agreements with their home countries. That relaxed attitude could change, however. Under a deal struck with the United States last month, Mexico may start a process later this month to become a safe third country, making asylum seekers apply for refuge in Mexico and not the United States. To lessen the load on Mexico, Mexico and the United States plan to put pressure on Central American nations to do more to prevent asylum seekers, including African migrants, from moving north. For the moment, however, more Africans can be expected to attempt the journey, said IOM's Kim. "They want to do something with their life. They feel they lack a future in their country," she said.

US dream pulls African migrants in record numbers across Latin America

Hundreds of activist groups on Tuesday urged the EU to "immediately halt negotiations" for a trade deal with Mercosur countries over Brazil's alleged harm of its indigenous people and rainforests.

The appeal from more than 340 groups could further complicate the European Union's bid to conclude 20 years of talks for a free trade agreement with Brazil and its Mercosur partners Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

In an open letter, Greenpeace, as well as an array of NGOs across Europe and Latin America, reminded the EU it had previously suspended trade preferences with Myanmar and the Philippines over alleged human rights abuses.

"It is time that the EU takes a similar, tough stance to prevent a deterioration of the human rights and environmental situation in Brazil," the letter said.

"We, therefore, call on you to immediately halt negotiations for an EU-Mercosur free trade agreement," it added.&nbsp;

It urged Brussels to "guarantee that no Brazilian products sold in the EU, nor the financial markets underpinning them, are leading to increases in deforestation, land grabbing of native lands or human rights violations."

The letter also urged an end to trade talks until Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro gives concrete commitments to implement the 2015 Paris climate deal.

European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told journalists on Monday that EU officials were in close contact with the growing number of NGOs expressing concern.

EU officials have "listened to them and tried to see what we can do," the Swedish commissioner said.

"There are some measures taken in Brazil that we certainly do not agree with and a trade agreement cannot solve all the miseries of the world," Malmstrom said.

"But we can get a context to discuss these issues. We are certainly trying to get a chapter on trade and sustainable development that is as ambitious as possible but it is not done yet."

Brazil's Bolsonaro and Argentina's Mauricio Macri expressed confidence earlier this month that the deal would soon be signed.

Malmstrom said the two blocs were near an agreement and expressed hope it could be reached before the current European Commission stands down in November.

The main obstacle has been European reluctance to open its market to agricultural products from South America, and more recently differences have emerged with Brazil over trading meat, sugar and automobiles.

Hundreds of activist groups on Tuesday urged the EU to "immediately halt negotiations" for a trade deal with Mercosur countries over Brazil's alleged harm of its indigenous people and rainforests.

Hundreds of activist groups on Tuesday urged the EU to "immediately halt negotiations" for a trade deal with Mercosur countries over Brazil's alleged harm of its indigenous people and rainforests. The appeal from more than 340 groups could further complicate the European Union's bid to conclude 20 years of talks for a free trade agreement with Brazil and its Mercosur partners Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. In an open letter, Greenpeace, as well as an array of NGOs across Europe and Latin America, reminded the EU it had previously suspended trade preferences with Myanmar and the Philippines over alleged human rights abuses. "It is time that the EU takes a similar, tough stance to prevent a deterioration of the human rights and environmental situation in Brazil," the letter said. "We, therefore, call on you to immediately halt negotiations for an EU-Mercosur free trade agreement," it added. It urged Brussels to "guarantee that no Brazilian products sold in the EU, nor the financial markets underpinning them, are leading to increases in deforestation, land grabbing of native lands or human rights violations." The letter also urged an end to trade talks until Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro gives concrete commitments to implement the 2015 Paris climate deal. European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told journalists on Monday that EU officials were in close contact with the growing number of NGOs expressing concern. EU officials have "listened to them and tried to see what we can do," the Swedish commissioner said. "There are some measures taken in Brazil that we certainly do not agree with and a trade agreement cannot solve all the miseries of the world," Malmstrom said. "But we can get a context to discuss these issues. We are certainly trying to get a chapter on trade and sustainable development that is as ambitious as possible but it is not done yet." Brazil's Bolsonaro and Argentina's Mauricio Macri expressed confidence earlier this month that the deal would soon be signed. Malmstrom said the two blocs were near an agreement and expressed hope it could be reached before the current European Commission stands down in November. The main obstacle has been European reluctance to open its market to agricultural products from South America, and more recently differences have emerged with Brazil over trading meat, sugar and automobiles.

European Union urged to halt trade talks with South America over Brazil abuses

All you need to know about China's Belt and Road Initiative

Earth Day 2019 is being observed in Latin America and around the world and something people everywhere will notice: it's getting hotter.

NASA images show climate change impact in LatAm

Mobs of stick-wielding church-goers in Myanmar's northeast used to descend on dealers and addicts in a desperate effort to save their communities from a meth-induced health crisis sweeping the country.

But anonymous death threats brought the vigilante operations to a halt.

"It simply became too dangerous for us," says Zau Man, leader of the local Baptist church in Kutkai, a town in Shan State scarred by addiction.

Myanmar is the second-biggest producer of opium in the world after Afghanistan and is now believed to be the largest source of methamphetamine.

The multi-billion dollar industry outstrips rivals in Latin America to feed lucrative markets as far away as Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul.

Shan is the epicentre of production in Myanmar, with a network of local armed groups linking up with transnational trafficking gangs.

Kutkai sits between Mandalay and the militia-riddled town of Muse on the China border, a key entry point for precursor chemicals heading to Myanmar's illegal meth labs.

Trucks carrying illicit goods roar through the town in both directions, past a Chinese temple and streetside restaurants with signs in Mandarin.

Heroin and meth use here are rampant. Zau Man says nearly every household has at least one drug user, dealers work out in the open and often violent meth addicts have turned parts of Kutkai into no-go zones.

"In some areas, you can only get food until 10 pm, but you can get drugs 24/7," he says.

'Smart and ruthless'&nbsp; 
Myanmar is facing a "public health disaster" because of meth and few villages in the country are left unscathed, Jeremy Douglas, a regional representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, tells AFP.

But the crisis is at its most acute in the poppy-covered hills of Shan State, where a landscape overrun with armed rebel groups, militias and security forces is an ideal breeding ground for meth labs.

Accurate figures of production of high-quality crystal meth, or "ice", and low-grade meth, known in Southeast Asia as "yaba", are unavailable.

In January 2018, Kutkai police seized 30 million yaba pills, 1,750kg of crystal meth and 500kg of heroin with a domestic value of some $54 million in the country's largest-ever drug bust.

But huge raids leave street prices unaltered, suggesting they are only a small slice of production, according to the International Crisis Group, which says the business now "dwarfs" Shan's formal economy.

Crystal meth is smuggled via sophisticated trafficking networks to more developed markets like Australia, where it can fetch a wholesale value of more than $180 million per tonne.

Yaba is distributed to Myanmar's neighbours, particularly Thailand and Bangladesh.

But the pink pills are increasingly being dumped at rock-bottom prices on a domestic market in what Douglas called a "smart and ruthless" strategy to build demand.

"It's a nasty business and they're really pushing it out into the population," he says.

Users and health workers in three different towns in Shan state -- Lashio, Kutkai and Muse -- told AFP pills go for just 500 kyat for three, or around 10 cents each.&nbsp;

As the price falls, so does the user age, with reports of children as young as nine taking yaba.

Many miners, long-distance drivers and shift workers mix narcotics -- smoking meth to keep them awake, and injecting heroin to bring them down.

Ashamed to go home&nbsp; 
Arr San, a gaunt 27-year-old with matted hair, rummages round his roadside shack in Muse and pulls out a bong crafted from a plastic bottle he uses to smoke yaba.&nbsp;

He has been hooked since he was 18 and now consumes around five pills a day.&nbsp;

For Arr San, like many others in the region, there are few opportunities to avoid the cycle of poverty and violence -- two years ago he fled his home in a nearby town for fear of being forced into an ethnic armed group.

Narcotics can provide an escape from the often grim reality of life in Shan.

"I take drugs because I get depressed and they help stabilise my mind," he says.

Arr San is one of 300 heading daily to the local hospital for methadone, a powerful opioid used to wean people off heroin.

But the problem is not limited to the poor.

Among Myanmar's urban elite, addiction to high grade crystal meth is already taking root.

Usually in powder or crystal form, "ice" is commonly snorted or smoked. It can also be injected, which increases the threat of disease transmission through needle-sharing.

A UNODC-backed policy launched in February 2018 champions depenalising users and treating drugs as a health issue while tackling the trade's kingpins.

But the law has yet to catch up —- anyone caught with even one yaba pill still faces a minimum of five years behind bars.

It is estimated that around half of Myanmar’s prison inmates are jailed for minor drug offences and arrests of drug users are rising.

A lack of funding for prevention work and treatment means Myanmar’s meth problem may only get worse.

Arr says: "I want to go back home and see my mother’s face, but I just can’t."

He added: "I don’t want to trouble her as I’m so sick."

Mobs of stick-wielding church-goers in Myanmar's northeast used to descend on dealers and addicts in a desperate effort to save their communities from a meth-induced health crisis sweeping the country.

Mobs of stick-wielding church-goers in Myanmar's northeast used to descend on dealers and addicts in a desperate effort to save their communities from a meth-induced health crisis sweeping the country. But anonymous death threats brought the vigilante operations to a halt. "It simply became too dangerous for us," says Zau Man, leader of the local Baptist church in Kutkai, a town in Shan State scarred by addiction. Myanmar is the second-biggest producer of opium in the world after Afghanistan and is now believed to be the largest source of methamphetamine. The multi-billion dollar industry outstrips rivals in Latin America to feed lucrative markets as far away as Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul. Shan is the epicentre of production in Myanmar, with a network of local armed groups linking up with transnational trafficking gangs. Kutkai sits between Mandalay and the militia-riddled town of Muse on the China border, a key entry point for precursor chemicals heading to Myanmar's illegal meth labs. Trucks carrying illicit goods roar through the town in both directions, past a Chinese temple and streetside restaurants with signs in Mandarin. Heroin and meth use here are rampant. Zau Man says nearly every household has at least one drug user, dealers work out in the open and often violent meth addicts have turned parts of Kutkai into no-go zones. "In some areas, you can only get food until 10 pm, but you can get drugs 24/7," he says. 'Smart and ruthless' Myanmar is facing a "public health disaster" because of meth and few villages in the country are left unscathed, Jeremy Douglas, a regional representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, tells AFP. But the crisis is at its most acute in the poppy-covered hills of Shan State, where a landscape overrun with armed rebel groups, militias and security forces is an ideal breeding ground for meth labs. Accurate figures of production of high-quality crystal meth, or "ice", and low-grade meth, known in Southeast Asia as "yaba", are unavailable. In January 2018, Kutkai police seized 30 million yaba pills, 1,750kg of crystal meth and 500kg of heroin with a domestic value of some $54 million in the country's largest-ever drug bust. But huge raids leave street prices unaltered, suggesting they are only a small slice of production, according to the International Crisis Group, which says the business now "dwarfs" Shan's formal economy. Crystal meth is smuggled via sophisticated trafficking networks to more developed markets like Australia, where it can fetch a wholesale value of more than $180 million per tonne. Yaba is distributed to Myanmar's neighbours, particularly Thailand and Bangladesh. But the pink pills are increasingly being dumped at rock-bottom prices on a domestic market in what Douglas called a "smart and ruthless" strategy to build demand. "It's a nasty business and they're really pushing it out into the population," he says. Users and health workers in three different towns in Shan state -- Lashio, Kutkai and Muse -- told AFP pills go for just 500 kyat for three, or around 10 cents each. As the price falls, so does the user age, with reports of children as young as nine taking yaba. Many miners, long-distance drivers and shift workers mix narcotics -- smoking meth to keep them awake, and injecting heroin to bring them down. Ashamed to go home Arr San, a gaunt 27-year-old with matted hair, rummages round his roadside shack in Muse and pulls out a bong crafted from a plastic bottle he uses to smoke yaba. He has been hooked since he was 18 and now consumes around five pills a day. For Arr San, like many others in the region, there are few opportunities to avoid the cycle of poverty and violence -- two years ago he fled his home in a nearby town for fear of being forced into an ethnic armed group. Narcotics can provide an escape from the often grim reality of life in Shan. "I take drugs because I get depressed and they help stabilise my mind," he says. Arr San is one of 300 heading daily to the local hospital for methadone, a powerful opioid used to wean people off heroin. But the problem is not limited to the poor. Among Myanmar's urban elite, addiction to high grade crystal meth is already taking root. Usually in powder or crystal form, "ice" is commonly snorted or smoked. It can also be injected, which increases the threat of disease transmission through needle-sharing. A UNODC-backed policy launched in February 2018 champions depenalising users and treating drugs as a health issue while tackling the trade's kingpins. But the law has yet to catch up —- anyone caught with even one yaba pill still faces a minimum of five years behind bars. It is estimated that around half of Myanmar’s prison inmates are jailed for minor drug offences and arrests of drug users are rising. A lack of funding for prevention work and treatment means Myanmar’s meth problem may only get worse. Arr says: "I want to go back home and see my mother’s face, but I just can’t." He added: "I don’t want to trouble her as I’m so sick."

Ruthless meth networks get ill-prepared Myanmar hooked

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pope-on-trip-to-panama-says-fear-of-migrants-makes-people-crazy-192375">Pope Francis</a> urged Latin America's leaders on Thursday to shun corruption and tackle gang violence, drug trafficking and the killing of women, which he said had become a "plague" in his native continent.

Francis also addressed migration for the second straight day, saying more had to be done to overcome fears and suspicions because migrants were seeking a better life.

In a meeting with bishops from Central America, Francis said many young people found themselves "boxed in and lacking opportunities, amid highly conflictual situations with no quick solution: domestic violence, the killing of women - our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard - armed gangs and criminals, drug trafficking ...."

At least 2,795 women were victims of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017, according to government data provided to the UN’s Latin American economic commission, ECLAC.

In El Salvador this phenomenon is particularly acute, with a rate of 10.2 femicides per 100,000 women in 2017, ECLAC said.

The pope said families had been "broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good but made speculation its 'paradise'."

On Thursday evening, several hundred thousand young people took part in the opening ceremony of the Catholic Church's World Youth Day - the reason for the pope's visit - and heard Francis tell them to have the courage to change things.

In a morning address to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and the diplomatic corps, Francis said the continent's young people were demanding that their political leaders live honestly, transparently, simply, and "be opposed to all forms of corruption".

Last year, a Transparency International report on corruption in Latin America showed that more than half of people surveyed in 20 countries believed their government was failing to address corruption and one in three said they had to pay a bribe for public services.

Francis praised those in the Latin American Church, who, like assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, had tried to keep the truth alive "in the face of injustice, the spread of poverty, and the abuse of power".

Romero, a champion of the poor, became a human rights icon in Latin America when he was killed by a right-wing death squad in 1980 while he was saying Mass. He was made a saint last year.

Romero’s path to sainthood had stalled under two previous popes, reflecting concerns by some bishops in Latin America and the Vatican that he was overly political. But Francis speeded it up after his election as the first Latin American pope in 2013.

In the past, Francis criticised bishops who spoke badly of Romero even after his assassination, saying they had defamed and slandered him. On Thursday, Francis said Romero's name had become "a dirty word" for some.

Francis told Reuters in June he had wanted to make a stop in nearby El Salvador during his Panama visit to pray at Romero's tomb. Francis later decided to make a longer trip to El Salvador sometime in the future.

Pope Francis urged Latin America's leaders on Thursday to shun corruption and tackle gang violence, drug trafficking and the killing of women, which he said had become a "plague" in his native continent.

Pope Francis urged Latin America's leaders on Thursday to shun corruption and tackle gang violence, drug trafficking and the killing of women, which he said had become a "plague" in his native continent. Francis also addressed migration for the second straight day, saying more had to be done to overcome fears and suspicions because migrants were seeking a better life. In a meeting with bishops from Central America, Francis said many young people found themselves "boxed in and lacking opportunities, amid highly conflictual situations with no quick solution: domestic violence, the killing of women - our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard - armed gangs and criminals, drug trafficking ...." At least 2,795 women were victims of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017, according to government data provided to the UN’s Latin American economic commission, ECLAC. In El Salvador this phenomenon is particularly acute, with a rate of 10.2 femicides per 100,000 women in 2017, ECLAC said. The pope said families had been "broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good but made speculation its 'paradise'." On Thursday evening, several hundred thousand young people took part in the opening ceremony of the Catholic Church's World Youth Day - the reason for the pope's visit - and heard Francis tell them to have the courage to change things. In a morning address to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and the diplomatic corps, Francis said the continent's young people were demanding that their political leaders live honestly, transparently, simply, and "be opposed to all forms of corruption". Last year, a Transparency International report on corruption in Latin America showed that more than half of people surveyed in 20 countries believed their government was failing to address corruption and one in three said they had to pay a bribe for public services. Francis praised those in the Latin American Church, who, like assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, had tried to keep the truth alive "in the face of injustice, the spread of poverty, and the abuse of power". Romero, a champion of the poor, became a human rights icon in Latin America when he was killed by a right-wing death squad in 1980 while he was saying Mass. He was made a saint last year. Romero’s path to sainthood had stalled under two previous popes, reflecting concerns by some bishops in Latin America and the Vatican that he was overly political. But Francis speeded it up after his election as the first Latin American pope in 2013. In the past, Francis criticised bishops who spoke badly of Romero even after his assassination, saying they had defamed and slandered him. On Thursday, Francis said Romero's name had become "a dirty word" for some. Francis told Reuters in June he had wanted to make a stop in nearby El Salvador during his Panama visit to pray at Romero's tomb. Francis later decided to make a longer trip to El Salvador sometime in the future.

Pope says killing of women has become 'plague' in Latin America

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