Latin America
Alex Saab, ally of Venezuela’s Maduro, pleads guilty in US corruption case
(Reuters) – A Colombian-born businessman with close ties to ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded guilty yesterday in a U.S.
World
Saudi Arabia reports wide-ranging security alerts after week of strikes
RIYADH/DUBAI, (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia issued security alerts over a range of territory today, including in the holy city of Mecca and second-largest city Jeddah, following a week of attacks from Iran-aligned fighters that have drawn it deeper into the Middle East war.
Caribbean
EOG Resources to begin exploratory drilling for oil off Tobago
(Trinidad Guardian) American energy company EOG Resources is expected to begin exploratory drilling in Tobago’s waters from mid-October to assess the area’s hydrocarbon potential.
Caribbean
CARICOM group raises concerns over Haiti’s readiness for December polls
The CARICOM Eminent Persons Group (EPG) has raised concerns about voter registration and security in Haiti as preparations continue for the first round of elections scheduled for December 13.
Latin America
Lula, Bolsonaro neck-and-neck in Brazil runoff polls ahead of election
SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Two opinion polls released today showed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro statistically tied in a potential second-round runoff ahead of next month’s election.
Xi pushes ‘Greater BRICS’ economic ties to give bloc larger global role
NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled today initiatives in areas ranging from AI to trade to deepen cooperation among the “Greater BRICS” emerging economies, as Beijing seeks to weld the grouping into a practical platform for Global South development.
Twenty-five years after September 11, Americans reflect on attack that changed a nation
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Americans marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks today with sorrow and somber reflection, honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field in a shocking attack that reverberates to this day.
Caribbean
Star Sabga wept after release from house arrest, regrets statements about PM
(Trinidad Express) Star Sabga wept when she was told the Preventive Detention Order (PDO) against her had been revoked, her attorney, Faris Al-Rawi, said yesterday.
Caribbean
Trinidad PM eyes meeting with Delcy
(Trinidad Express) Prime Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday publicly expressed her love for Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez as she disclosed that plans are under way for a possible meeting between the two leaders later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Houthis seize key Yemeni Red Sea port, sources say, threatening global energy flows
CAIRO/WASHINGTON/DUBAI, (Reuters) – Iran-aligned Houthi militants seized control of Yemen’s port city of Mocha today, military sources said, posing a further threat to global energy supplies hours after President Donald Trump said he expected the war to end after mid-term elections.
Latin America
Ecuadorean court sentences former President Bucaram in COVID corruption case
QUITO, (Reuters) – An Ecuadorean court sentenced former President Abdala Bucaram to nine years and four months of imprisonment on Wednesday for his involvement in a criminal organization that fraudulently sold medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Latin America
Venezuela’s mining sector: more data needed on geological potential
(Reuters) – Following are facts about Venezuela’s mining sector, which is attracting interest from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Caribbean
Four schoolboys suspended in Trinidad for 7 days after fight on first day of school
(Trinidad Guardian) After spending only one day at school, four boys will spend the next seven days away from class after being suspended following their involvement in a fight on Monday afternoon.
US also eying gold in Venezuela after tapping its oil, sources say
(Reuters) – The Trump administration is seeking greater U.S. access to Venezuela’s minerals, including gold, as it expands its push to gain control and influence over the South American country’s vast natural resources beyond oil, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.
Iran vows to respond to US strikes, says US energy companies’ facilities are ‘exposed’
DUBAI, (Reuters) – Iran threatened today to retaliate against any new U.S. attacks on its assets, warning that the energy production chain in the region was “sprawling, accessible and exposed” and that U.S.
Chinese national rescued from Nepal tunnel 10 days after flash flood
KATHMANDU, (Reuters) – A Chinese national was pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal today, authorities said, 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley, killing more than 1,300 people.
Latin America
Brazil’s Supreme Court faces rare test as justices turn against each other
BRASÍLIA, (Reuters) – An open conflict between justices has engulfed Brazil’s Supreme Court, as it weighs whether to investigate two of its own in what may be the biggest test of its credibility since the country returned to democracy four decades ago.
Two people rescued alive from Nepal hydropower tunnel
KATHMANDU, (Reuters) – Two people were pulled out alive today from a tunnel linked to a hydropower station on the Trishuli River, nine days after a ice, rock and mud slide swept through a valley in Nepal, killing more than 1,200 people and displacing tens of thousands.
Caribbean
Cuba rolls out more free-market reforms amid US pressure
HAVANA, (Reuters) – Cuba unveiled regulations today aimed at attracting foreign investment, trade and tourism to the Caribbean island as it continues to adopt free-market reforms under pressure from Washington and a crippling economic crisis.
Latin America
Only democratic government can provide stability for oil investors, Venezuelan opposition leader says
(Reuters) – Only a “serious, democratic government” can provide the stability needed by investors in Venezuela’s oil sector, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said in a video message today.
