Nicole, which is on track to hit Bermuda, strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday (September 12), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The core of Nicole, located about 210 miles (335 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h), is expected to pass near or over the island on Thursday, the NHC said. Hurricanes reaching Category 3 and higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale are considered […]
South America
Colombian president wins Nobel Prize for peace efforts
OSLO, Norway (AFP) – by Hazel WARD Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his “resolute” efforts to end more than five decades of war in his country, despite voters’ shock rejection of a historic peace deal. The award was unexpected after voters rejected the terms of a landmark accord Santos clinched last month with FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, alias Timoleon “Timochenko” Jimenez and some observers expressed surprise the rebel […]
US election 2016: swing states
Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s White House running mate, is a popular senator with strong foreign policy credibility who could help the Democrats bring in two key voting blocs: Hispanics and the battleground state of Virginia. Videographic about swing states in the United States. https://youtu.be/9atxFtv4Zoo
Colombian voters nix peace deal in shock vote
by Alina Dieste BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombians hit their government with a shock defeat Sunday when they voted by a razor-thin majority to reject a historic peace accord with communist FARC rebels. Voters narrowly defied the government’s plan to put 52 years of bloody conflict behind them, reversing the trend of earlier opinion polls. The ‘No’ camp won by about 57,000 votes which translated into a lead of less than half a percentage […]
Haitian and Dominican Republican FMs to boost strained ties
The foreign ministers of Haiti and the Dominican Republic met in Santo Domingo on Thursday (September 29) to strengthen bilateral relations between the two neighbours which were strained after migrant deportations from the Dominican Republic a year ago. Last year, reportedly thousands of Haitians were sent back across the border after Dominican officials began implementing a controversial immigration programme against undocumented migrants, many of whom were from Haiti. Many of those who were deported or […]
Colombia’s FARC apologises for deadly 2002 massacre
Commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) offered an official apology on Thursday (September 29) for the 2002 Bojaya massacre where guerrillas killed 79 civilians. Visiting the church which was destroyed in the attack, just days after a peace agreement was signed with the Colombian government, FARC commander Ivan Marquez asked the local community for reconciliation. “We ask for you to forgive us and that you give us the hope of a spiritual […]
Spain’s Cabify launches helicopter service to transport people around Mexico City
Spanish private auto taxi service operator Cabify launched its CabiFLY Shuttle air taxi service in Mexico City on Wednesday (September 28) together with Helitour operator, with a fleet of Bell helicopters. The company said in a news release, CabiFLY Shuttle, is the first shuttle air service of its type, offering point to point, round trips for 1 to 5 people from Mexico City’s International Airport to the Miditel Heliport, located in the upscale neighbourhood of […]
Venezuela’s Maduro calls for new era of relations with U.S.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday (September 27) he is hopeful for improved relations with the United States, a day after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Maduro met Kerry in Colombia’s coastal city of Cartagena after the signing of a major peace deal between leftist guerrillas and the Colombian government. “I ask God to bless the results of the meeting, and for Venezuela to open a new era of good relations with […]
Santos expresses confidence that peace deal will pass plebiscite
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday (September 21) he expects an historic peace deal ending a half century of conflict between the Colombian government and leftist rebels to pass a plebiscite on October 2. Santos made the comments in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. He said he was confident in a positive outcome despite a push by former President Alvaro Uribe against the deal. “Of […]
Nine dead and two missing after rains cause mudslide in Guatemala
At least nine people died and two people were missing from a small town near Guatemala City on Wednesday (September 7) after intense rains the night before caused a mudslide, emergency workers said. Around 50 people were affected and various homes were damaged in Santa Isabel Villanueva, a town 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the capital, David de Leon, a spokesman for the national emergency services, told reporters. After Tuesday’s rains, the lack of […]
Thousands demonstrate against Brazil’s new president in Sao Paulo
Tens of thousands poured into the streets of Sao Paulo in a massive demonstration against Brazil’s newly installed president, Michel Temer, on Sunday (September 4). More than a half dozen demonstrations against Temer have been held in Brazil’s largest city leading up to and since Brazil’s Senate decision to oust former President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday (August 31), following a months-long impeachment trial. Temer, the former vice president, was officially sworn in as president shortly […]
Brazil’s Rousseff appeals against losing presidency
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) – by Damian Wroclavsky and Sebastian Smith Impeached Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff filed a Supreme Court challenge Thursday to her removal from office in an early blow to new President Michel Temer’s bid to stabilize the country. The appeal, filed by Rousseff’s lawyer Jose Eduardo Cardozo and seen by AFP, demands “the immediate suspension of the effects of the Senate decision.” The Senate voted Wednesday to convict Rousseff on charges of having […]
