Regional News

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Guatemala’s Congress yesterday passed a bill that would allow the government to  confiscate property from convicted criminals in a bid to target  the wealth of powerful drug traffickers.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelan lawmakers allied to  President Hugo Chavez named nine new Supreme Court judges on Tuesday, squeezing the vote in before a new parliament that  could block the Socialist Party’s picks is formed in January.

PANAMA CITY, (Reuters) – Traffic in the Panama Canal,  a major shipping waterway that connects the Atlantic and  Pacific oceans, has been suspended temporarily due to heavy  rains, the canal authority said yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) Trinidad Cement Ltd shocked local and regional stock markets on Monday  as one of the region’s most widely held shares reported a loss of $80.8 million for the quarter ended September 30 and announced that it was seeking a restructuring of its debt.

MANAGUA, (Reuters) – Nicaragua received “suitcases full  of cash” from Venezuela that may have helped to sway tainted  elections in 2008, according to U.S.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s government on Monday  took control of a fifth of shares in Globovision, an opposition  television network opposed to President Hugo Chavez, the state  news agency said.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – A frontrunner in Haiti’s presidential election race warned outgoing President Rene Preval’s government and electoral authorities yesterday to expect protests if Preval’s candidate emerged among the top two vote winners in results expected today.

The secret files of the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) have been destroyed by two Israeli men, Justice Minister Herbert Volney has disclosed.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan security forces have started housing families displaced by floods in tourist hotel rooms following an order by President Hugo Chavez to make use of vacant accommodation, local media said yesterday.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez blamed  “criminal” capitalism yesterday for global climate phenomena  including heavy rains that have killed scores and left tens of  thousands homeless in Venezuela and Colombia.

(Trinidad Guardian) Clico chairman Gerry Yetming said on Friday that he is preparing to recommend to Finance Minister Winston Dookeran that the government not pay the 14,000 holders of the insurance company’s short-term policies and mutual funds, unless former Clico chairman Lawrence Duprey “comes to the table to renegotiate the terms of the June 2009 shareholders’ agreement.”

BANOS, Ecuador (Reuters) – Villagers fled their homes yesterday after a volcano in central Ecuador erupted, spewing rocks, gas and ash that prompted officials to issue an alert and order the evacuation of nearby communities.

(Jamaica Observer) Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe on Thursday night threw a lifeline to men worldwide when he announced that he had developed a formula that can reduce and eliminate prostate cancer, the number one cause of cancer deaths among males.

Caricom Trade Ministers yesterday agreed on the goods that Haiti will be able to export within the Single Market on a non-reciprocal preferential basis for three years.

(Trinidad Express) A new agreement will have to be negotiated between Government and former chairman of CL Financial Lawrence Duprey for the State to be in a strong position to recover billions of dollars it invested to save the insurance and real estate conglomerate.

(Trinidad Express) Local manufacturers have complained that their exports in Caricom countries faced product boycotts after Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s statements on how Trinidad and Tobago would offer assistance following the destruction caused by Hurricane Tomas.

(Jamaica Observer) – Celebrated Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe will this evening announce the launch of a research and development institute, which will develop pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals from indigenous Jamaican plants.

(Trinidad Express) – There are 110 gangs operating in Trinidad and Tobago, each with an average membership of 12 people, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said on Wednesday.

Reform debate launched Cuba has launched a public debate on plans to transform its struggling socialist economy by reducing the role of the state and boosting private enterprise.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haiti’s elections at the  weekend were “fairly good” and were not derailed by the call for  annulment made by a group of presidential candidates, two of whom  later recanted, the top United Nations official in the country  said yesterday.