Regional News - Page 151 of 1101

Cuba’’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel delivers a speech as Venezuela’s Presi-dent Nicolas Maduro reacts during the ALBA group meeting in Havana, Cuba, May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua condemn exclusion from U.S. summit

HAVANA, (Reuters) – A bloc of leftist countries meeting in Havana yesterday condemned the exclusion of certain nations from next month’s Summit of the Americas, after the United States said that it only wanted the leaders of governments that respect democracy to attend.

ANSA McAL completes acquisition of Dominican Republic solar park

(Trinidad Guardian) The ANSA McAL Group of Companies has completed the acquisition of the Monte Plata Solar Farm in the Dominican Republic.

U.S. renews Chevron’s Venezuela license through November under same restrictions

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department yesterday renewed a license to oil producer Chevron Corp CVX.N

Brazil invites election observers on record scale as Bolsonaro stirs doubts

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil is preparing to receive a record number of international observers for its October election, according to electoral authorities and participating organizations, amid a polarized presidential race in which President Jair Bolsonaro has questioned the reliability of electronic voting machines.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The illicit trafficking of illegal firearms is a significant challenge for the Caribbean region, noted Dr Horace Chang, chairman of the CARICOM Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) and Jamaica's National Security Minister.
Addressing yesterday’s Committee meeting on Hemispheric Security at the Organization of American States, by video-conference, Dr Chang pointed out that “the Caribbean accounts for approximately 23 per cent of all recorded homicides, with an average homicide rate of 15.1 per 100,000 people, which is nearly three times the world average.”
He added that “the proliferation and increased access to illegal firearms accounts for the high level of armed violence and insecurity within our regions.”
Dr Chang pointed out that “the firearm is the weapon of choice for committing homicides and other acts of crime and violence. In this regard, I have to underscore the need for greater collaboration and partnership to combat the scourge of the illicit trafficking of firearms.
“This is directly linked to the steps being taken by IMPACS to strengthen the capacity of member states in the region to successfully detect and prevent these illegal firearms from entering our shores.”
In addition, he said, “the region must continue to commit to regional mechanisms that support firearm ballistics gathering and information sharing.”
Turning to drug trafficking, Dr Chang pointed out that “the illicit trafficking in drugs through our regions operates in tandem with mechanisms supporting the legal trade.
“The UNODC reports that the number of new psychoactive substances emerging on illicit drug markets has increased six-fold in the past decade and reached a record high of over 1,000 unique substances in 2020.”
“Specifically, annual global seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants increased by 64 per cent in 2019, while opioid use disorder deaths have gone up by 71 per cent over the past decade. To cauterise the challenges identified facing our regions, there is an urgent need to implement comprehensive coordinated responses to drug demand and illicit drug trafficking,” the CONSLE chairman declared.
“In the area of maritime security, the challenges faced have underscored the need to leverage technology, including through the use of satellite imagery, radar and surveillance systems, and other maritime domain awareness infrastructure.”
He added, “We therefore have to identify opportunities to re-engage our strategic partners to strengthen the existing maritime framework and build on the work of CARICOM IMPACS, which provides maritime data on high risk vessels on a daily basis to several countries in the region.
“The commitment to enhancing maritime security, especially with countries in CARICOM having landmasses one-tenth of their Exclusive Economic Zones, is of paramount importance.”
Dr Chang said this was especially important as “member states are located along the crossroad between North and South America, which intersects the transshipment routes in the illegal guns for drug trade. This reality warrants coordinated responses to maritime crime and maritime domain awareness.”
Dr Chang pointed out that in small-island and low-lying coastal developing countries such as the CARICOM member states, the effects of transnational organised crime may be seen in the growing environmental threats caused by the illicit trade in natural resources, deforestation and coastal management.
He said in this regard, CARICOM's Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, IMPACS, was working with member states to leverage the border security systems in the region, to fully utilise passenger name record and advanced passenger information, to identify persons of interest through risk assessments and pre-screening.
He advised that this comprehensively addressed all forms of trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling and illegal migration, which are integral in the fight against transnational organised crime.
Dr Chang said IMPACS has been taking steps towards the maintenance and strengthening of information sharing and communication between law enforcement counterparts in the region in respect of human trafficking, and all other relevant cross border security considerations.
It is imperative for countries within the region to continue to protect victims; prevent the occurrence through raising awareness; and prosecute and convict perpetrators of these crimes.
Dr Chang said it was also critical that states move with alacrity to strengthen, adopt and implement measures at the national levels in line with relevant international legal frameworks, including international humanitarian, human rights, and refugee laws.
'CYBERCRIME HAS EVOLVED'
Turning to the area of cyber crime, Dr Chang noted that “among the emerging security concerns in our respective regions, cybercrime has evolved and is growing in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic through online fraud, extortion and online child sexual abuse targeting vulnerable individuals, as well as through ransomware that primarily compromises systems, including hospitals.”
“Organised crime groups have also taken advantage of remote working and tele-business resulting from the pandemic, primarily through phishing scams that enable malicious access to critical systems,” Dr Chang observed.

Jamaica News

Trafficking of illegal firearms severely threatens CARICOM region – Jamaica minister

(Jamaica Gleaner) The illicit trafficking of illegal firearms is a significant challenge for the Caribbean region, noted Dr Horace Chang, chairman of the CARICOM Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) and Jamaica’s National Security Minister.

Left-wing Colombian candidate plans drug war shakeup

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Leading Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro is roundly critical of the U.S.-led

Bolsonaro says Biden snubbed him at G20, but agrees to attend U.S. summit

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday complained that U.S.

Video of Brazilian man asphyxiated in police car sparks outrage

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Viral videos of a 38-year-old Brazilian man being asphyxiated with gas in the trunk of police car after getting stopped by highway patrol caused outrage across Brazil yesterday.

Biden, Brazil’s Bolsonaro set to meet in June at U.S. summit, sources say

BRASILIA/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. leader Joe Biden are set to meet next month after Bolsonaro accepted an invitation to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, two sources told Reuters yesterday.

British Virgin Islands ex-premier Fahie pleads not guilty to drug charges

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Former British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and import cocaine to the United States, his attorney said on Wednesday, following his arrest in Miami.

Trinidad AG: Govt moving to make CCJ final appellate court

(Trinidad Guardian) Government will be moving to make the Caribbean Court of Justice T&T’s final appellate court–and there are no reasons that could possibly present any obstacle to the Opposition leader supporting the requisite vote for this since, she’d spoken of abolishing appeals to the Privy Council in April 2012.

No Travel Pass needed from to enter Trinidad June 1

(Trinidad Guardian) Travellers will no longer be required to obtain a travel pass to enter T&T come June 1, as the system will be discontinued.

Trinidad PM: `We will have to borrow to pay salary increases’

(Trinidad Express) Unless it borrows vast sums of money, the Government will not be able to afford the salary increases being sought by the trade unions representing public servants.

Rio de Janeiro - O ministro da Casa Civil, Jaques Wagner, participa da reunião do Diretório Nacional do Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), no Windsor Guanabara Hotel. (Foto: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil)

Brazil’s Lula dispatched emissary to DC to meet with US officials, sources say

RIO DE JANEIRO/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Brazil’s leftist presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva quietly dispatched his emissary, Senator Jaques Wagner, to meet with U.S.

Trinidad & Tobago News

Trinidad PM: `We will have to borrow to pay salary increases’

(Trinidad Express) Unless it borrows vast sums of money, the Government will not be able to afford the salary increases being sought by the trade unions representing public servants.

Trinidad & Tobago News

Trinidad woman, 53, shot dead while asleep

(Trinidad Guardian) A 53-year-old woman was shot dead as she slept in her bedroom in Champs Fleurs yesterday morning, while her 24-year-old daughter escaped becoming a second victim.

Guyana’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd left, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Dr Amery Browne exchange documents after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to renew and enhance cooperation between the two countries in Guyana on Sunday.OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, GUYANA

Trinidad & Tobago News

Trinidad business bodies praise Guyana-T&T MoU

(Trinidad Guardian) The T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association were both full of praise following the signing of the Guyana – T&T Memorandum of Understanding over the weekend In a release the TTCIC said, “The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Governments of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago is a significant step forward for trade and investment relations between our two countries and CARICOM as a whole.”

Trinidad PM got call from fraudster about Gates Foundation `grant’

(Trinidad Guardian) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says information he received suggesting that Trinidad and Tobago was being offered significant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in fact, came from a scammer who was seeking to get money from him.

Surinam Airways suspends service to T&T after 30 years

(Trinidad Guardian) Surinam Airways has announced that it has been forced to suspend its services as of today, after close to three decades of operations into Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

Colombia to train Ukrainian military on landmine removal

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – A team of Colombian soldiers will travel to Europe to train their Ukrainian counterparts on de-mining techniques, the South American country’s defense minister said yesterday.