'Mass rape' video on social media shocks Brazi

The attack happened in a poor community in Rio de Janeiro



Brazilian police are hunting more than 30 men suspected of raping a teenage girl in Rio de Janeiro, and of putting video of the attack on social media.

Bolivia police clash with disabled protesters in La Paz

The Bolivian government said a group of radical protesters attacked police first



Police in Bolivia have clashed with disabled protesters who tried to approach the presidential palace to demand an increase in state benefits.

Cuba legalises small and medium private businesses

Havana's private "El De Enfrente" bar may benefit from the new legal status



Cuba's government has announced that it is legalising small and medium-sized private businesses.

Brazil crisis: Leaked tape forces minister Romero Juca out

Romero Juca (left) is one of acting President Michel Temer's closest advisers



A close ally of Brazilian acting President Michel Temer is stepping aside in a new political scandal.

Rousseff impeachment: Brazil Senate in marathon debate

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Dilma Rousseff remained defiant ahead of the vote

Brazil's Senate is debating whether President Dilma Rousseff should face a full impeachment trial.

Brazil Rousseff: Disarray grips parliament over impeachment

Supporters of Ms Dilma surrounded her at a public event, on a day when there were also many protests against her



The Brazilian Senate has vowed to vote on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff despite a ruling that a vote in the lower house was flawed.

Brazil: Former leader Lula 'played key role' in Petrobras corruption

Workers' Party supporters say the accusations are aimed at derailing Lula's bid to run for president in 2018

Brazil's Attorney General Rodrigo Janot has asked the Supreme Court to authorise an investigation against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for alleged corruption.

Venezuelans lose sleep to save electricity

Venezuelans face acute shortages of such basics as toilet paper and have to spend hours queuing.

 

Venezuelans lost half an hour of sleep on Sunday when their clocks moved forward to save power, as the country grapples with a deep economic crisis.

Brazilian president's campaign strategist arrested

Joao Santana was known as "the maker of presidents" in South America



Brazilian prosecutors have filed corruption charges against President Dilma Rousseff's electoral strategist.

Venezuela crisis: Opposition claims big win in push to recall Maduro

Thousands of people came out onto the streets to sign the petition for a recall referendum



The Venezuelan opposition has claimed that 600,000 people have signed a petition for a recall referendum on President Nicolas Maduro.

Colombia legalises gay marriage

LGBT activists celebrated in Bogota earlier this month after an appeal against gay marriage was rejected

Colombia's top court has legalised same-sex marriage, making the country the fourth in Latin America to do so.

Brazil corruption: $125m of dirty money 'repatriated' in 2015

Much of the money recovered had been diverted from Brazil's state oil company Petrobras

Brazil has said it repatriated $125m (£86m) last year siphoned off to foreign bank accounts by corrupt officials, politicians and businessmen.

Mexico missing students: Government 'hampered' independent inquiry

Relatives of the missing students attended the delivery of the panel's final report

A panel of international experts investigating the disappearance of 43 Mexican trainee teachers in 2014 says the government of President Enrique Pena Neto has hampered its inquiries.

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff accuses deputy of coup plot

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Brazil political crisis: Why Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment calls

President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has denounced a "coup" plot against her, suggesting that Vice-President Michel Temer is one of the "conspirators".

Panama Papers: Argentina President Macri has 'nothing to hide'

 Image caption Mauricio Macri was elected as president last year

Panama Papers

• Panama tax leak reaction
• Q&A: Panama Papers
• Tax havens and the new politics
• Panama leaks spur global investigations

Argentine President Mauricio Macri has pledged to assert his innocence when he appears before a federal prosecutor to explain his financial dealings.

Panama Papers: Government announces creation of 'panel of experts'

 Image caption President Juan Carlos Varela is determined to ensure Panama's reputation is not besmirched by the scandal

Panama Papers

• Panama tax leak reaction
• Q&A: Panama Papers
• Tax havens and the new politics
• Panama leaks spur global investigations

Panama is creating an international panel to help improve transparency in its offshore financial industry.

Brazil Vice-President Michel Temer could face impeachment

 Image caption Vice-President Michel Temer could face impeachment proceedings after a Supreme Court justice's ruling on Tuesday 
 

A Supreme Court judge in Brazil has ordered the lower house of congress to create a commission to analyse whether impeachment proceedings against Vice-President Michel Temer should go ahead.

Judge Marco Aurelio Mello overruled a decision by the speaker of the lower house who had rejected the request.

Brazilian officials resign in new blow to Dilma Roussef government

 Image caption Sports Minister George Hilton (right) resigned from Ms Rousseff's government

Two more senior Brazilian officials have resigned in the latest blow to the government of President Dilma Rousseff. 

They are Sports Minister George Hilton and Col Adilson Moreira, who was organising security at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next August.
Col Moreira reportedly wrote that he was ashamed the country was being led by "an unscrupulous group".
The resignations come as Ms Rousseff battles for her government's survival in an impeachment process.
Critical month for Rousseff

Brazil's PMDB party quits ruling coalition

 Image caption PMDB Congress members celebrated their decision to quit the coalition

The largest party in Brazil's governing coalition, the PMDB, has voted to pull out.

The centrist party called for an "immediate exit" from President Dilma Rousseff's government.

Brazilian leader Dilma Rousseff calls impeachment a 'coup attempt'

 Image caption "There will be no coup," said President Rousseff in her address to lawyers and jurists 
 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has said impeachment proceedings launched against her in Congress amount to a coup attempt.