News

San Juan, Nov 13 (EFE).- The U.S. assistant secretary of state of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs travels Thursday to theBahamasfor talks on counternarcotics cooperation. During his visit, William Brownfield will also meet with representatives of the neighboring British overseas territory of Turks and Caicos, the State Department said. The U.S. Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement ...

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 13 (EFE).- Brazil’s underground economy will shrink slightly this year to 16.2 percent of gross domestic product, down from 16.3 percent in 2013, according to a study released by the Getulio Vargas Foundation, or FGV, a private higher education institution. Economic activities that are not legally recognized will amount to 833 billion reais (some $326.7 billion) ...

By Natalia Bonilla. San Juan, Nov 13 (EFE).- The warm waters off the Bahamas are home to a collection of large-scale underwater sculptures, including one considered the world’s largest that rises nearly 18 feet from the seafloor and is designed to help protect and preserve natural coral reefs of this Caribbean archipelago. The Coral Reef Sculpture Garden “attracts divers from ...

Havana, Nov 13 (EFE).- Cuba’s central bank has extended 3.23 billion pesos ($135 million) in personal loans since lending to individuals began in December 2011, Communist Party daily Granma said Thursday. The total of borrowers stood at 378,011 as of Sept. 30, Granma said, citing bank Vice President Francisco Mayobre. President Raul Castro’s administration authorized lending to individuals as part ...

The Alliance For Change (AFC) says that it will not approve Guyana’s 2015 National Budget even if it contains hefty salary increases for government employees. AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan told a news conference that his party, which holds seven seats in the National Assembly, will instead re-table the no-confidence motion should President Donald Ramotar end the suspension of Parliament. Mr. ...

Santiago, Nov 12 (EFE).- An aging population will characterize the Latin American and Caribbean region in the 21st century, a phenomenon attributable to lower fertility rates and longer life expectancy, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said in a study released here Wednesday.Life expectancy in the region has climbed from 55.7 years in the 1950-1955 period, which ...

Brasilia, Nov 12 (EFE).- Four Brazilian cabinet officials on Wednesday announced their resignations to ease the way for President Dilma Rousseff to restructure her administration after her reelection last October.On Tuesday, Culture Minister Marta Suplicy had resigned and on Wednesday Labor Minister Manoel Dias; Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Mauro Borges; Strategic Affairs Minister Marcelo Neri and cabinet chief ...

Montevideo, Nov 12 (EFE).- Forty-five percent of the scientific researchers in Latin America are women, the highest for any region of the world, the head of the Science Policy and Sustainable Development Division of Unesco, Lidia Brito, said Wednesday.During a speech in Montevideo at the “Ecosystems of Innovation in Latin America: policies, institutions and impact,” which is being held through ...

San Juan, Nov 12 (EFE).- Dominica’s government has signed an agreement with Range Developments for the construction of a luxury hotel on the Caribbean island, the first approved real-estate project under a program that offers citizenship to investors. The Cabrits Resort Kempinski Dominica will be a 101-room hotel on Douglas Bay, on the island nation’s north shore, Kempinski Hotels said in a press ...

Beijing, Nov 12 (EFE).- Chinese President Xi Jingping and his Peruvian counterpart, Ollanta Humala, on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to create a trilateral working group for bi-oceanic railway project between Peru and Brazil. This is one of the seven agreements reached between both countries during Humala’s official visit to China after attending Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Besides participating in railroad project, China ...