Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visited Moscow Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said assistance for Maduro’s regime was on the agenda. The two leaders will discuss Russian-Venezuelan trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin said. Russia’s aggregate investment in Venezuela currently exceeds $4.1 billion, according to the Kremlin. Russia provides significant economic, defense and energy assistance to Venezuela and the embattled… Read more »
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s Vice President Maria Vicuna announced her resignation on Tuesday, one day after President Lenin Moreno relieved her of duties amid an investigation into payments she received as a legislator years ago. Vicuna’s resignation was the second time a vice president left since Moreno took office in May 2017. Moreno on Monday assigned Secretary General Jose Augusto… Read more »
Instead of celebrating minimum wage hikes in hyperinflation-pummeled Venezuela, consumers now run as fast as they can to buy goods before the inevitable price increases. In other words, higher wages are as much bad news as good news as they simply mean the printing press will run faster at the central bank and businesses will react accordingly. a staggering 150… Read more »
United Press International reports, “Uruguay President Tabare Vazquez said Monday his government decided it won’t grant political asylum to former Peruvian President Alan Garcia, who’s accused of taking bribes. Investigations in Uruguay have concluded Garcia’s case is not one of “political persecution,” Vazquez told reporters, El Pais Uruguayan newspaper reported. He said Garcia has already left Uruguay’s Embassy in Lima,… Read more »
Forbes reports, “Haiti’s social and economic narrative is being rewritten by innovative entrepreneurs dedicated to championing sustainability and self-sufficiency while celebrating the vibrant and creative culture of the island and its citizens, which dates back to the Haitian Revolution that started in 1791 and represents the world’s first and only successful slave revolt. Political instability, natural disasters and a lack… Read more »
The Montreal Gazette reports, “Despite a mild rap on the knuckles from Ottawa, Quebec is steaming ahead with its plan to reduce its immigration numbers by about 20 per cent in 2019. Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette tabled the plan in the National Assembly on Tuesday. It says Quebec will reduce the total number of new arrivals by… Read more »
Rio Times Online reports, “This morning (Friday, November 30th), president-elect Jair Bolsonaro named Admiral Bento Costa Lima Leite de Albuquerque Júnior to take over Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/china-argentina-sign-currency-swap-deal-g20-summit-181202165338460.html Argentina’s central bank has signed a deal with its Chinese counterpart to expand a currency swap programme by eight billion dollars, the bank said in a statement. The agreement is an extension of a swap first agreed between the two countries in July 2017. The new deal, announced on Sunday during a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping,… Read more »
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/nov/19/cages-are-more-dignified-colombia-holds-cold-comfort-for-venezuelan-migrants-bogota The feet of Estilita López, 78 years old, are bloodied and bruised from the arduous journey from Yaracuy, in northern Venezuela, to Bogotá, the Colombian capital. Together with 460 fellow compatriots, she now lives in a new, city-funded migrant camp that has just sprung up on a football pitch near the airport. “I had to leave Venezuela, but this… Read more »
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46139180 “They are just everywhere and they are polluting our oceans, our fields, our cities,” says Guillermo González of the 3.4 billion disposable plastic bags used in Chile every year. Mr González heads the recycling department at Chile’s environment ministry and is only too aware of the problems caused by the huge amount of plastic bags used by his compatriots…. Read more »
