Accredited Third States
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Meet Venezuela’s new political boss
There’s a new political boss in Venezuela. So far, he’s acting just like the old boss. Hugo Chávez was purportedly still in his death throes last week when his designated political heir, eager to snatch the reins of power before anyone could stop him, signaled that he was just as capable of playing the anti-American card as the dying president…
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UN hails Chávez
UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations on Wednesday, lauded the commitment Hugo Chávez to the cause of social justice in the Caribbean, as the General Assembly paid tribute to the memory of the late President of Venezuela. Chávez, a socialist firebrand, died on March 5 after struggling with cancer for almost two years. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Chávez…
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Protests in Caribbean district for third consecutive night
NEW YORK, CMC – Police here say that at least 18 people were arrested as fights between them and angry youth erupted for the third consecutive night in the predominantly Caribbean district of East Flatbush in Brooklyn over police shooting death of a Caribbean youth. On Thursday police reported that they struggled to control an irate crowd that broke away…
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Warning issued against abuse of solitary confinement
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United Nations expert on torture has called on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the practise of solitary confinement and its harmful effects in the Americas, including the Caribbean. Juan E. Méndez, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture, also called for stronger regulation on solitary confinement. “I am concerned about the general lack of…
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New Pope Shifts Church’s Center of Gravity Away From Europe
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300…
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Standards and Poor’s downgrades Grenada
NEW YORK, CMC – The US-based Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Grenada to 'SD' (selective default) from 'CCC+/C'. “The downgrade to 'SD' follows the government of Grenada's announcement that it will not pay the coupon due March 15, 2013, on its U.S. dollar and Eastern Caribbean dollar bonds due…
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Venezuela: Panel Will Investigate Roots of Cancer That Killed Chávez
(New York Times) Venezuela will create a scientific panel to investigate the illness of Hugo Chávez, after an accusation by the interim president last week that the former president’s cancer was mysteriously caused by his enemies. “We have this intuition that our Commander Chávez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted to get rid of him to destroy the Bolivarian…
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CARICOM and Latin America after Chávez
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Much comment has been made, following the recent death of President Hugo Chávez, emphasizing forebodings about the fate of the PetroCaribe initiative and other forms of assistance, including the creation of the Alba; and the effects of any disappearance of these initiatives on the economic welfare of the Caricom countries, among other countries of the hemisphere. A…
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U.S. Expels 2 Venezuela Envoys
CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States said Monday that it had expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in response to the ouster last week of two American military attachés by Venezuela. “Around the world, when our people are thrown out unjustly, we’re going to take reciprocal action,” Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, said at a news conference. “And we need to…
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Legacy of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez will be hard to erase
What does Hugo Chávez leave to the Venezuelan people? Three legacies, all of which are poisoned: a harebrained way to govern, the mindless 21st-Century socialism, and a neopopulist model based on welfare-patronage. • First, he leaves them the memory of a colorful character who was very funny. He governed badly but was amusing and monopolized the newscasts. Fourteen years of…
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