The Parana River, second in size only to the Amazon in South America, is suffering its worst low since 1941, with experts unsure as to whether this owes to its natural cycle or to climate change. The river is crucial for providing drinking water and irrigating farmland, generating electricity as well as for transporting goods to landlocked Paraguay and Bolivia.

The World Health Organization's emergencies chief Michael Ryan voices deep concern at the Covid-19 situation in South America, warning that outbreaks in the already hard-hit region are once again worsening.

Peru has released new statistics showing that its COVID deaths number well over double the original figure given. And the pandemic holds sway over the rest of the continent as well.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣

Wearing goggles while looking up into the sky, Buenos Aires residents gather outside the city's Galileo Galilei planetarium to watch a partial solar eclipse -- only visible in southern Chile and Argentina -- as some hope it will bring good omen for 2021.