News

Washington, Dec 9 (EFE).- U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the use of torture by the CIA on suspected terrorists during the past decade did not help the efforts against terrorism or the country’s national security interests, after the release of a Senate report on the issue.The report on CIA practices published Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee “documents ...

Vatican City, Dec 9 (EFE).- The Vatican intends to consult Roman Catholic dioceses about the possibility of making the marriage annulment process free of charge and eliminating “unfair discrimination” against homosexuals, with a survey whose contents were made public on Tuesday.The questions included in the survey are addressed to episcopal conferences worldwide, in preparation for next year’s Synod of Bishops, ...

Caracas, Dec 9 (EFE).- Venezuelan authorities seized “at least $3 million” hidden in a vehicle being transported on a Lebanese-flagged vessel that arrived in the capital’s port from the United States, the state-run press reported Tuesday.“The vehicle arrived in the country on Sunday, Dec. 7, on board a vessel from the United States, and it was detected at dock No. ...

Chicago, Dec 9 (EFE).- A study released on Tuesday warns that President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on immigration offers only “minimal benefits” to immigrants who work in agriculture in the U.S. Midwest, most of whom are of Mexican origin.Moreover, the measures could worsen the critical scarcity of agricultural workers in the region, said Michele Wucker, the vice president for ...

Rio de Janeiro, Dec 9 (EFE).- Brazil celebrated 3,701 gay weddings in 2013, the first year a judicial decision authorized same-sex marriage, officials announced Tuesday.Of all gay marriages last year, 52 percent were between women and 48 percent between men, according to figures of the civil registry published by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, or IBGE.Same-sex marriages were pronounced ...

San Juan, Dec 9 (EFE).- The Caribbean Court of Justice will take up on Wednesday the nationalization case pitting the government of Belize against British Caribbean Bank and businessman Dean Boyce.The court will spend three days listening to arguments in six consolidated appeals lodged against Belize by Dean Boyce & Trustees of the BTL Employees Trust, British Caribbean Bank Ltd ...

San Juan, Dec 9 (EFE).- Jamaican swimmer Alia Atkinson said she will never forget the moment she became the first black woman to win an international swim title after prevailing in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Fina World Swimming in Qatar.“It was Alia Atkinson first and then the joy and all the other emotions associated with victory came out,” ...

Activists of Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc. (TIGI) on Tuesday- International Anti-Corruption Day- marched through the streets of Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, to pressure government to address corruption. The theme of this year’s United Nations-designated day is “Breaking the Corruption Chain.” The global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International, has ranked Guyana the lowest in the Caribbean as far as perceived corruption is ...

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Monday retained power in the Caribbean island of Dominica for a fourth straight term but with fewer seats in an election that his opponent charged was “tainted” with irregularities. Addressing the nation, Skerrit conceded that his Dominica Labour Party (DLP) lost three seats to the United Workers Party (UWP) led by Lennox Linton. “. “In this ...

San Juan, Dec 8 (EFE).- A man wanted in Florida on suspicion of committing a sexual offense was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the U.S. Virgin Islands at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix.The program director at the CBP’s San Juan Field Office, Brenda Padial, told Efe on Monday that Randolph Voth, 64, was detained Dec. ...