Americas

PORT-AU-PRINCE—An earthquake that struck Haiti on Oct. 6 killed 15 people, injured another 300 and destroyed 40 houses, Jerry Chandler, head of the Caribbean country’s civil protection agency, said on Oct. 8. Chandler was speaking at a news conference to report on the human cost of the relatively shallow, magnitude 5.9 quake, which hit the […]

The socialist regime in Venezuela has generated the largest mass exodus in Latin American history, and a prominent think tank in Washington, DC, says the time for talk is over. The nonpartisan Center for Security Policy (CSP) issued a statement on October 4 backing U.S. support for “Venezuelans to take their country back by themselves” […]

PORT-DE-PAIX—An earthquake hit northern Haiti late on Oct. 6, killing at least 14 people and sparking a scramble by rescue agencies to help residents of the worst-hit towns in the impoverished Caribbean country. A local official said at least eight people died in Port-de-Paix on the northern coast near the epicenter of the magnitude 5.9 […]

BRASILIA, Brazil—Right-wing Congressman and former Army captain Jair Bolsonaro won nearly half the votes in Brazil’s first-round presidential election on Oct. 7.  He will now face leftist Fernando Haddad, the former mayor of Sao Paulo, in a second round of voting on Oct. 28. He won 46.3 percent of valid ballots, far ahead of Haddad’s 29 […]

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grande, on Oct. 07 said that Colombia was responding to a “monumental crisis” in the region from a growing exodus of Venezuelans. Grande was in Venezuela’s border region of Cucuta to see the situation for himself firsthand, pledging to provide more resources to help Colombia deal with the […]

Tropical Storm Michael formed on Oct. 7, according to a 1 p.m. update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC). Some forecast models show that the storm could impact northern Florida and Alabama by Wednesday, Oct. 10. Florida Gov. Rick Scott said on Oct. 7 that he will declare a state of emergency for the […]

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck near the northernmost tip of Haiti late on Oct. 6, killing at least 11 people and injuring hundreds more after buildings were damaged, authorities and media reported. The quake struck about 12.3 miles (20 kms), west-northwest of the port of Port-de-Paix, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. Local media reported […]

Brazil’s presidential campaign entered its last 48 hours on Oct. 5, with right-wing front-runner Jair Bolsonaro’s lead growing before Oct. 7 vote, as candidates and supporters took part in final rallies. Bolsonaro is recovering from a near-fatal knife attack while he was on the campaign trail. Final opinion polls ahead of the vote on Oct. […]

The fireworks industry in Tultepec, Mexico, is growing, despite the risks to the people involved.

Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro announced key changes to the government-backed cryptocurrency called the petro on Oct. 1, adding confusion to an asset shrouded in mystery and rejected by the crypto community. Maduro assured the audience that, despite U.S. sanctions, the petro will be the official currency for the country’s foreign transactions. Contrary to earlier announcements, […]

WASHINGTON—The United States, Canada, and Mexico agreed to sign a new trade deal to “terminate and replace” the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). President Donald Trump says the new agreement will transform North America into a “manufacturing powerhouse.” The new trilateral trade pact will be named the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, or USMCA. Trump called the deal “historic news for our […]

The crew of a Spanish tuna fishing vessel have been arrested off the coast of Gabon for illegally catching sharks without the proper licence and stripping them of their fins, marine conservation group Sea Shepherd said on Oct. 1. The Senegalese-flagged vessel Vema, which has a license to fish only for tuna, was found on […]

At least seven people were shot dead and four were wounded on Sept. 30, in a prison riot in Guatemala, according to local authorities, who said they had wrested back control. The riot spun out of a brawl among prisoners in the Pavoncito maximum security prison, said prison spokesman Rudy Esquivel. Volunteer firefighters reported that […]

The United Nations refugee agency has said that over 1.6 million Venezuelans have left their country since 2015.

WASHINGTON—The United States and Canada entered intense weekend negotiations as a last-ditch effort to save the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trade officials on both sides rushed to hammer out differences before a Sunday midnight deadline. “Everyone is negotiating in good faith right now as we speak,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox […]

SAO PAULO—Brazil’s presidential front-runner, right-wing congressman Jair Bolsonaro, has been discharged from a Sao Paulo hospital where he received treatment after being stabbed during a campaign rally on Sept. 6. On Sept. 29 after flying home to Rio, Bolsonaro tweeted that there was “no better feeling” than to be close to his family. Group rallies flooded the […]

SAO PAULO—Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, the front-runner in next month’s election, will not leave hospital on Sept. 28 as expected due to an infection, the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Sept. 27. Citing sources close to Bolsonaro, the paper said he caught a bacterial infection after a catheter was removed during his […]

New rules forcing ships to use cleaner marine fuels may deal yet another blow to cash-strapped Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), an exporter of high-sulfur fuel oil. From Jan. 1, 2020, vessels will have to switch to less-polluting bunker fuel or be fitted with equipment to curb emissions, under new International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules. […]

Homicides in Mexico City, which have surged to record levels in recent years, are highly concentrated in a small number of notoriously dangerous neighborhoods, a report published on Sept. 26 showed. After years of insulation from the worst of the violent crime that has plagued the country, Mexico City has seen homicides rise 45 percent […]

Jamaica’s open arms to Chinese investment in recent years has led many island residents to fret about possible adverse effects on the local economy. Allan Hope, the Jamaican poet, musician, actor, and talk-show host better known as Mutabaruka, recently voiced his concern during his “Cutting Edge” radio talk show that Chinese road projects in Jamaica […]