The Rio Times

Credicorp's sixth inclusion index puts Peru at 47.7 points, up from 37.9 in 2021, with 29% of Peruvians at the top level and 69% holding a mobile wallet.

Police name 9 firms as suspects and identify 97 in Indonesia's fire cases.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's support fell to 49.1% in a Kyodo poll.

Maputo's late October brings a Millennium bim art exhibition, animation film at the Franco-Moçambicano centre and the Bokani Dyer Trio.

Instituto França puts Flávio Bolsonaro at 50.8% and Lula at 49.2% of valid votes, a technical tie five days before the Brazil runoff on 25 October.

Gendarmes in Bata arrested a 35-year-old Malian man on Monday 19 October over an alleged assault on a girl of 15, and he is presumed innocent.

Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in Abuja on 20 October 2026.

Edward Ince, a director of Republic Bank Ltd in Trinidad and Tobago, resigned effective 15 October.

Malawi's annual inflation eased to 19.4% in September, its lowest since May 2022, but non-food prices are still rising at 31.5% a year.

Entel said on 20 October that 2,509,380 customers in Peru can use Starlink on their phones, against 3,046,385 in Chile, less than a year after launch.

Ecopetrol voided its five-year LNG import tenders on 19 October and the energy minister backed it, as Colombia's proven gas reserves fell about 39%.

Argentina admitted two TGS gas liquids projects worth over US$3.2 billion to its RIGI incentive regime, with exports of US$1.1 billion a year from 2030.

A New York judge voided the US$16.1 billion YPF judgment against Argentina on 19 October and closed the case, leaving only Burford's US Supreme Court petition.

Shareholders of Brazil's Casas Bahia ratified the company's judicial recovery request on 19 October, while a São Paulo court has yet to accept the case.

Chile's Codelco offered European buyers a record US$350 a tonne copper premium for 2027, up from US$325, two outlets report.

Honduras remittances passed US$10 billion this year, with US$10.1 billion received by 1 October, 11.3% above 2025, central bank figures show.

Guyana's oil fund took in about US$3.88 billion in nine months, with US$1.89 billion in the third quarter, the Bank of Guyana's reports show.

Fuel and energy exports rose 89.1% to US$1.781 billion in September, leaving an energy surplus of US$1.6 billion, just over half of Argentina's total.

Brent near US$110 lifts Mexico oil revenue 10.5%, yet Pemex crude exports fell 45% in August and fuel imports left a US$4.0 billion trade deficit.

A Bogotá judge ordered the National Museum to keep every piece pulled from its halls, after about 30 items were removed.

Nigeria's finance minister wants the state oil company NNPC and gas exporter NLNG on the stock exchange to help build a US$1 trillion capital market.

Brazil's electoral court says no voter can be arrested or detained from 20 October, five days before the 25 October runoff, except in three cases.

China narrowed its Brazil poultry ban to 14 Santa Catarina plants after a Newcastle case, while Mexico stopped poultry from all of Brazil.

Safaricom refunds began on 23 July, moving money left on old recycled lines to owners' new numbers.

Datatec expects underlying earnings of 29.5 to 31.0 US cents a share, while headline earnings rise only 0.5% to 7.3%, it told investors on 20 October.

Puerto Rico says New Fortress owes about US$100 million for diesel burned when gas went undelivered.

Ethiopia's state telecom operator has an acting CEO, Tariku Demissie, after its chief of eight years joined the cabinet.

USCIS approved 139 Cuban Adjustment Act cases and denied 447 from April to June 2026, an approval share of 23.7%, while 342,360 cases stay pending.

Argentina's Milei accused Lula of machismo on 20 October over a clipped interview remark, five days before the Brazil runoff, and offered no fraud evidence.

Equatorial Guinea's deputies approved the next state budget of about US$1.9 billion on Monday 19 October, as falling oil income shrinks public spending.

Data Ranking's Brazil runoff poll gives Lula 50.4% and Flávio Bolsonaro 49.6% of valid votes, inside the 2.15-point margin of error.

Volkswagen's Puebla workers rejected a 13.16% pay deal on 15 October, and the strike notice ends 22 October.

Lawyer Nicolas Tiangaye said on Tuesday 20 October that no charges have been stated against five Central African Republic activists held since 15 October.

ExxonMobil's head of exploration is said to have described a big discovery in Guyana's Stabroek Block.

Six police officers were honoured in Montego Bay on 19 October 2026 for rescuing a woman and a constable from floodwaters after Hurricane Melissa.

Mauritania shipped 603,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas in the third quarter, 16% more than a year earlier, but September slipped below last year.

Bukele says 10,629 detainees labelled casual gang collaborators will be reviewed and about half could leave early, while families question who qualifies.

Ghana's state gold buyer GoldBod said small-scale miners exported 85.4 tonnes worth US$11.6 billion this year, ahead of large mines at US$11.1 billion.

Ecuador floods have affected more than 23,000 people and killed three, including two workers buried in Azuay, as seven rivers overflowed on 20 October.

Seven police officers are under investigation after the Foppa killing in Guatemala City, where two brothers were arrested and freed the next day.

Morocco's biggest bank, Attijariwafa, joined China's CIPS payment network on 20 October, giving Moroccan firms a direct yuan route for trade with China.

Costa Rica reported about 1.5 tonnes of cocaine seized and two arrests after a chase off Cabo Matapalo on 19 and 20 October, with US DEA support.

Finance Minister Khamis Mussa Omar and IFC's Ethiopis Tafara agreed in Bangkok to work on private investment for Tanzania's US$1 trillion economy goal.

A fire on a LATAM jet halted flight LA2302 to Piura at Lima airport on 19 October.

A Rio police shooting on Avenida Brasil killed Queimados secretary Jefferson Dias da Silva, 51, on 19 October.

JPMorgan's N50 billion (about US$37.5 million) deposit with the Central Bank of Nigeria is one of the last steps before a merchant bank licence.

A Brazil jury acquitted a 59-year-old grandmother on 19 October of poisoning her granddaughter with a cake in July 2025.

Paris wants more Algerian crude and liquefied gas as Europe heads into winter; Algeria can add oil quickly, but extra LNG is harder to find.

Bolivia's mining authority AJAM says it found over 100 excavators, 200 dump trucks and 500 people at a Potosí gold site with no valid title.

A Rondônia columnist says drug planes land more often near Bolivia.