News

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. ...

Bogota, Dec 8 (EFE).- The navy seized nearly 1,200 kilos of cocaine hidden around the mouth of the Mira River in Nariño, a province in southwestern Colombia, navy spokesmen told Efe. The cocaine belonged to the Daniel Aldana column of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, one of the rebel units most involved in drug trafficking, the navy said. The ...

By Javier Garcia.Barinas, Venezuela, Dec 8 (EFE).- Venezuela is seeking to improve its image and promote its great natural attractions to make tourism a major source of revenue, second only to oil, Tourism Minister Andres Izarra said.The goal is to increase tourism’s current 4 percent contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) to 9 percent by 2019, Izarra said during ...