Regional News

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was due to leave for a trade summit in Uruguay yesterday hopeful he dispelled public panic at home and gained political ground in an ongoing purge of the nation’s financial sector.

GENEVA (Reuters) – As many as 43 million workers risk dropping out of the world labour market or moving into long-term unemployment if governments revoke economic stimulus measures too soon, the International Labour Organisation said yesterday.

(Antigua Sun) – Latchman Bhola and Zeena Moonasar, both of Guyana, who are alleged to be involved in a scam where a number of people were issued with fake immigration stamps, have again been denied bail.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – A senior minister and close  confidant of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez resigned yesterday in a growing banking scandal that has triggered a purge  of businessmen with ties to the government.

QUITO (Reuters) – Oil companies operating in Ecuador  have until March to sign new contracts or the government will  “change the rules of the game” to give the state more control over  the sector, President Rafael Correa said yesterday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The high command of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is getting more worried about the number of policemen and women hiring out their services to criminals.

(Trinidad Express) A Brazilian industrial group will join the Government of Trinidad and Tobago as its equity partner in Alutrint’s aluminium smelter plant.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday his government may target more banks for state intervention, sparking investor jitters two days after his government shut four private banks.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – The Honduran Congress voted on Wednesday not to allow the reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, a move that closes the door on his return to power after he was toppled in a June coup.

OECD enforces new tax measures The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says it is now moving to the enforcement phase in its crack down on tax havens.

(Trinidad Express) – A University of the West Indies mathematics professor was shot and robbed on Tuesday night, after being ambushed by two bandits just as he and his wife arrived at their St Augustine home.

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Alvaro Uribe accused Venezuela yesterday of imposing an illegal trade blockade similar to the US embargo on Cuba after his Andean neighbour said Colombia was engaged in “psychological war.”

GENEVA (Reuters) – A deal is close for an end to “banana wars”, the world’s longest-running trade dispute, the European Union’s farm trade chief said yesterday, but some producers made it clear they were not happy at the prospect.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaicans living in Costa Rica are facing more visa restrictions as that country’s government responds to an upsurge in crime, allegedly linked to gangs from the island.

(Barbados Nation) A high-ranking Catholic cleric, Monsignor Vincent, has condemned young people’s wearing of skimpy clothing and low-hanging trousers, exposing their underwear in public.

(Trinidad Express) A secret list of those who received State grants totalling TT$46 million from the Ministry of Culture and Gender Affairs during the period 2003 to 2007 has finally been revealed.

(Trinidad Express) There were varying views on Monday from an environmentalist, physicist and geologist, on Prime Minister’s Patrick Manning’s controversial plan to capture and store carbon emissions to reduce global warming.

ESTORIL, Portugal (Reuters) – Latin American countries meeting here with Spain and Portugal struggled with their response to the Honduras election, with large South American countries saying failure to condemn it could spur political instability in the region.

(Antigua Sun) – Another immigration officer has been arrested and taken before the court for abusing the powers of his office.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo  Chavez warned the nation’s private bankers yesterday that they  must comply with the law or face nationalization, regardless of  their banks’ size.