Latin America

Panama announces 30% to 50% discount on electricity rate

Eagle News — During the coronavirus pandemic, millions of people around the world are without jobs and without substantial finances to provide for their needs and basic necessities. Panamanian President, Laurentino Cortizo, has announced that for a million La Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Públicos (ASEP) customers, there will be a 30% to 50% discount from their electricity bill starting from April. This discount will continue to be in effect till June. The President also reassured Panamanians that […]

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How the world is reacting to Venezuela ‘coup bid’

Venezuela was plunged into heightened chaos on Tuesday after self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido said he had the support of troops to oust President Nicolas Maduro, while the government denounced what it called an attempted coup. Following are some initial reactions from world governments: – ‘Democracy cannot be defeated’ – The White House urged Venezuela’s armed forces to stand by the country’s “legitimate institutions.” President Donald Trump’s administration has been waging a mounting pressure campaign to […]

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China offers Venezuela help to restore power

China on Wednesday offered to help Venezuela as it faces a crippling multi-day power blackout that President Nicolas Maduro has blamed on the United States. “China hopes that Venezuela can quickly find the cause of this accident and restore normal power and social order,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular briefing. “China is willing to offer assistance and technical support to Venezuela to restore the power system,” Lu said. Power has been […]

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Guaido says Venezuela government silence due to ‘contradictions’

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro kept his silence Tuesday more than 24 hours after opposition leader Juan Guaido, defying a threat of arrest, returned to a hero’s welcome in Caracas. “They’re drowning in contradictions, they don’t know how to respond to Venezuela’s people,” Guaido told reporters, referring to the Maduro regime. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela’s acting president, flouted a government travel ban to embark on a 10-day tour of […]

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Guaido ramps up pressure after deadly Venezuela border clashes

by Esteban Rojas with Rodrigo Almoncid in Cucuta International pressure mounted against Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, with Washington vowing to “take action” after opposition efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country descended into bloody chaos. Self-declared interim president Juan Guaido called on the international community to consider “all measures to free” Venezuela after clashes at the border crossing left at least two people dead. Guaido announced he would participate in Monday’s Lima […]

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More than 1,500 caravan migrants arrive at US-Mexico border

TIJUANA, Mexico (AFP) — The bulk of the migrant caravan crossing Mexico began arriving Thursday at the US border, as around 800 Central Americans reached the city of Tijuana aboard 22 buses after more than a month on the road. “We’ve finally reached Tijuana. I can’t wait to see the border. It’s been a never-ending journey, but God brought us here,” said Carmen Soto, a Honduran migrant traveling with her two young children. More than […]

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Defiant Lula faces key court decision in Brazil

by Damian WROCLAVSKY Agence France-Presse BRASILIA, Brazil – Brazil’s top court convened Thursday to rule on whether former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva should face jail if he loses an appeal next week or if he can pursue other legal remedies. A court in Porto Alegre is to give its verdict on Monday on Lula’s appeal against a 12-year jail sentence for money laundering and corruption. But first, the Federal Supreme Court — sitting […]

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Fidel Castro’s eldest son commits suicide: Cuba state media

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — The eldest son of the late Cuban president Fidel Castro committed suicide on Thursday, state media reported. He was 68 years old. “Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, who had been treated by a group of doctors for several months due to deep depression, took his life this morning,” Cuba’s official newspaper Granma reported. “Fidelito” — as he was known on island nation — had initially been hospitalized for his condition and then continued […]

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Nearly 1,300 seized firearms destroyed in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Reuters) — A total of 1,295 firearms, confiscated so far this year in El Salvador, were destroyed in compliance with the Law on Control and Regulation of Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives, the country’s armed forces said Wednesday. Military personnel transported the weapons to the facilities of a private company engaged in the manufacturing of iron products, where they were melted down – one of the “most secure” methods to destroy firearms, […]

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Thirteen dead in Mexican prison as authorities put down riot

MONTERREY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican security forces used lethal force Tuesday to put down a prison riot in clashes that left at least 13 inmates dead, authorities said. Unrest at the prison in Cadereyta in northeastern Nuevo Leon state broke out in the morning and was put down. But it flared again later as inmates started fires that sent up huge columns of black smoke visible from far away. One prisoner died in that fire. Prisoners then took […]

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Quake and storm leave ruinous human, economic toll for Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A pair of devastating earthquakes and Tropical Storm Lidia in Mexico killed more than 400 people and toppled 150,000 houses and other buildings and structures, authorities said Wednesday. The damage included almost 12,000 ruined schools to the tune of 717 million dollars. And that was in addition to 1,500 national monument structures worth about $440 million dollars. All three disasters hit in September. “The raw, preliminary numbers cross over from homes, to monuments, […]

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Brazilian with German Olympian’s heart runs race of her life

by Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – Brazilian Ivonette Balthazar felt jittery ahead of a Rio de Janeiro road race Sunday, but her heart — transplanted from a German Olympian a year ago — spurred her on. In the midst of a long recovery from a transplant operation last year, the three-kilometer (1.9-mile) fun run alongside Rio’s Copacabana Beach seemed like a marathon to 67-year-old Balthazar. That heart, though, wouldn’t let her sit […]

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