Regional News

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil and Peru yesterday  condemned the refusal by the de facto government of Honduras to  allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country  unless he drops his demand to be reinstated.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela said yesterday it  arrested the former president of its National Securities  Commission, the capital markets regulator, in a widening  criminal probe into seven small private banks shuttered by  authorities last week.

(Jamaica Observer) Assis-tant Commissioner Justin Felice, head of the constabulary’s Anti-Corruption Branch, says he has been the subject of deep resentment from members of the force as well as the public.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba and Venezuela were set to  sign cooperation deals worth about $3 billion yesterday, underscoring Caracas’ role as the communist-run  island’s closest political and commercial ally.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – Minister of Education Andrew Holness has said that the government will be looking to enact legislation to ban the use of corporal punishment in schools in the next legislative year.

(Barbados Nation) Emigration of nurses is costing some CARICOM countries an estimated US$16 million in losses.

(Jamaica Gleaner) It was high drama on the streets of Ocho Rios on Mondsy afternoon when gunmen and the police traded bullets after a daring daylight robbery at a cambio in the resort town.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaicans from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States are expected to make presentations to a parliamentary committee dealing with issues affecting the diaspora next month.

(Trinidad Express) A Barataria woman was killed and her husband critically injured on Monday when gang members opened fire on the couple while they slept.

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.