Woman in Brazil survives 'freak harpoon accident'

A Brazilian woman survived after her husband accidentally shot her in the face with a harpoon at their home in the coastal town of Arraial do Cabo.

Elisangela Borborema Rosa, 28, underwent emergency surgery to remove the harpoon, in what doctors called a "bizarre event", with the woman avoiding fatal wounds by a centimetre (0.4 inches.)

Officials said the incident happened when her husband was in the living room cleaning his spear gun, which he used for underwater fishing. The weapon fired towards Ms Rosa, who was in the kitchen at the time, piercing her through the jaw and entering her spinal column.

The woman was taken to a local hospital but was immediately transferred to a regional hospital in nearby Araruama, where a she underwent emergency surgery.

Although the woman is expected to make a full recovery, Neurosurgeon Allan da Costa explained how close the bolt was to causing fatal injuries.

Bolivia takes Chile to court over Pacific dispute

Leaders in Bolivia say the nation will take the government of neighbouring Chile to the International Court of Justice in a dispute over the land borders.

Bolivians have longed believed that the northern tip of their neighbour's country, a piece of land preventing the country access to the Pacific Ocean, is rightfully Bolivian soil

Bolivia lost the land during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884), when borders were redrawn as part of the optimistically named Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1904 – costing the nation 250 miles of coastline.

President of Bolivia Evo Morales said he had decided to file the suit after "listening to the Bolivian people," while Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca told The Hague how his nation demands that Chile negotiate "a swift and effective agreement that grants [Bolivia] full sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean".

Officials in Chile say their neighbours have no historical or legal basis to demand reclamation of the land, which, they say, has for a long time been culturally Chilean.

Chilean Interior Minister Andres Chadwick ruled out any dialogue on the matter, saying: "if they want to talk about Chile's maritime sovereignty, no. No dialogue is possible."

Wave of mystery prawn deaths causes concern in Chile

Thousands of prawns and hundreds of crabs were found lifeless on the coast of Chile, in a mystery that raises as many concerns as it does questions.

The scores of shellfish washed ashore on the coast of Coronel, about 330 miles southwest of the Capital of Santiago.

The cause is unknown, though concerns about the level of oxygen in the water is a particularly worry for ecologists and the large number of people who are dependant on the fishing industry.

Local fishermen in the region are blaming local power-stations that use the ocean’s water for its cooling systems. One local fisherman told regional news station Radio Bio Bio that it is a highly unusual case.

He said: “I'm 69 years old and started fishing when I was nine, but as a fisherman I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude.”

Others believe that the death of so many crustaceans could be a product of the El Nino warm water current that can run through the region - though as yet all claims remain inconclusive.

Local environment official, Victor Casanova, told reporters that officials are, “investigating the Coronel Bay to establish the physical parameters of temperature, electric conductivity and, above all, the oxygen.”

The immediate concern to locals is how the unusual phenomenon will affect the local communities that depend on the food-source throughout the year.

Marisol Ortega, a spokeswoman for the fishing community says if the problem persists it could cause greater and greater difficulties for locals.

She says: "the way everything is being destroyed here, come the high season in November, we're already thinking we won't have anything to take from the sea."

Pope Francis becomes first ever Latin American to head the Catholic Church, but what can we expect?

The election of the first Latin American pope, and the first since the 1,300 years not to be from Europe, created an emotional reaction across the world yesterday, as white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel signalled the election of the church’s new leader.

The 76 year old Argentinean, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, takes the name Pope Francis and will be installed officially on 19 March, the Vatican says.

Pope Francis speaks after his election to the
head of the Catholic church yesterday

The Latin American world, home to 40% of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, will watch to see how the new papal leader manages the controversy and turmoil left from the reign of Pope Benedict XVI - who shocked the institution by resigning last month.

US President Barack Obama sent the "warm wishes" of the American people to the newly elected pontiff, praising the Argentine for being "the first pope from the Americas".

What Can We Expect?

Pope Francis is expected to be a more humble successor, shunning privileges such as executive travel and luxury dining during his time as Cardinal. He is also notably strong on issues of social justice. However, he is known to be a fierce conservative on issues such as gender equality and equal marriage – issues that caused such controversy and debate about the church’s failure to reasonably address modern society.

Hugo Chávez - An Obituary in Pictures. How We Should Remember the Charismatic Leader

The late Venezuelan president was a principled champion of the poor. But his historical legacy will be decided by the victors of battles to come.

No leader who regards social justice and the eradication of poverty as incompatible with western imperialism can expect to escape the smears of his opponents, and to this rule Chavez was no exception. Often described as ‘divisive’, Chavez was nevertheless a staunch democrat who was venerated by poor Venezuelans, millions of whom were lifted out of poverty by his channelling of oil money into social programmes. Naturally, he was reviled by those who had previously benefited from decades of US intervention and market dominance across Latin America, and who saw his influence in the region as a threat to the natural order.