Paraguay

The UK has banned people who are from or have travelled through Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela in the last 10 days. The ban will come into force from Friday and is due to a new variant identified in Brazil. British, Irish and foreign nations may enter the country but must isolate for 10 days.

decomposed remains of seven people, believed to be undocumented migrants, have been discovered in a fertiliser container in Paraguay, officials say.

Prosecutor Marcelo Saldivar told Reuters that they "assume that they arrived there from their country of origin and had planned to travel to a nearer destination but they did not calculate the distance well and did not survive the trip".

The former soccer player Ronaldinho Gaúcho was released, after being arrested in March on the grounds of using false documentation to enter Paraguay. Ronaldinho will now travel back to Brazil.

The Prosecutor's Office announced that Ronaldinho did not participate in the manufacturing plan for the false Paraguayan passports and identity cards that were seized from him. Of his brother, prossecutors have said that "there are no indications that he has personal traits or criminal behavior that in a field of regulated freedom endangers society."

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated she has "considerable doubts" about backing the EU-Mercorsur deal due to environmental concerns. The chancellor met Thursday climate campaigners in Berlin.

Steffen Seibert, spokesperson for the German government, told reports that "Serious questions have arisen due to the ongoing environmental concerns "as to whether the implementation of the agreement in the intended spirit would be guaranteed at present."

The trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur states of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, would create the world's largest free-trade zone.

Latin America's largest airline Latam Airlines says it is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to a slump in travel worldwide sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Latam said the bankruptcy filing has the support of the Cueto and Amaro families, as well as large shareholder Qatar Airways.

The company said it had about $1.3 billion in cash on hand and its affiliates in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay were not included in the Chapter 11 filing.

LATAM Airlines' Brazilian affiliates are in discussions with the Brazilian government about the next steps and financial support for operations in the country.

Mercosur released a statement last Friday (April 26) that Argentina decided to withdraw from ongoing trade negotiations with the South American trade bloc to focus on the growing economic crisis at home. The bloc, formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, has recently been hobbled by political squabbling and government changeovers.