RIO DE JANEIRO – A lingering financial scandal involving Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s son has soured his inauguration next week and tarnished the reputation of a far-right maverick who surged to victory on a vow to end years of political horsetrading. Bolsonaro, who spent nearly 30 years in Congress, takes office on Jan. 1 after an electoral win that gave him a mandate to hobble violent drug gangs, cut through red tape to kick-start Brazil’s economy and go after the corrupt political class.

But a regulator’s questions about a bank account of the former driver of his son, Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker and Senator-elect Flavio Bolsonaro, has clouded his big day, leading critics to doubt the president-elect’s graft-busting credentials and his ability to deliver a new type of politics. Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio Bolsonaro and the former driver, Fabricio Queiroz, have denied any wrongdoing. “Ever since this case came to light, there has been a spectacle of evasions and unconvincing explanations on the part of the Bolsonaros … (about) an episode with relevant implications for national politics,” Brazil’s biggest newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said in an editorial on Thursday.(Reuters)…[+]

Security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have fired live rounds and teargas to disperse demonstrators who burned tires and allegedly attacked Ebola centres in a protest against a decision to exclude them from the presidential election.

The electoral commission (CENI) announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling voting in the election on Sunday in the eastern cities of Beni and Butembo, and their surrounding areas, because of a continuing Ebola outbreak and militia violence.

The areas are strongholds of opposition to the outgoing president, Joseph Kabila, and local politicians denounced the move as an effort to swing the vote in favour of his preferred candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. Giscard Yere, a Beni resident, said: “There was a group of demonstrators who wanted to enter the CENI office … to demand the withdrawal of the decision. But the police officers and soldiers who were there fired to disperse the demonstrators.” Protesters ransacked an Ebola isolation centre in Beni and it is possible patients fled, said Aruna Abedi, the deputy director of the Ebola response.(theguardian)…[+]

HAVANA – Cuban lawmakers yesterday unanimously approved a revised draft of a new constitution that retains the island’s one-party socialist system but reflects its socio-economic opening since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The draft new constitution, which has 229 articles and will replace a Cold War era one, will maintain the Communist Party as the country’s guiding force and the state’s dominance of the economy, according to state-run media. A copy has not yet been distributed to the public. The document, however, also legitimises private business that has blossomed over the last decade, acknowledges the importance of foreign investment and opens the door to gay marriage, according to state-run media.

It imposes age and term limits on the presidency, after late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raul Castro ruled the country for nearly six decades, and introduces the role of a prime minister. The current draft incorporates into an original one published in July hundreds of mainly small changes proposed by citizens during a three-month public consultation at community meetings nationwide. It will go to a referendum next Feb. 24.(Reuters)…[+]

The Min­istry of Agri­cul­ture said there will be stiffer penal­ties for il­le­gal hunt­ing next year now that Pres­i­dent Paula-Mae Weekes has as­sent­ed to the Fi­nance Act 2018, which in­creas­es fines for in­frac­tions un­der the Con­ser­va­tion of Wildlife Act. From Jan­u­ary 1, poach­ers will face fines as much as 50 times high­er than cur­rent­ly ex­ists. The min­is­ter al­so has the pow­er to in­crease the lim­it of pre­scribed fines.

In a state­ment, the min­istry said while there are tougher fines for en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly sen­si­tive species (ESS), in­clud­ing the scar­let ibis, there is a need for an in­crease in fines for il­le­gal cap­ture of wildlife which have not been de­clared an ESS. This, it said, is to demon­strate the sever­i­ty of an of­fence, the po­ten­tial im­pact it has on con­ser­va­tion ef­forts and the in­ten­tion of the gov­ern­ment to de­ter il­le­gal hunt­ing. The min­istry al­so ex­pressed con­cern about re­cent re­ports of il­le­gal hunt­ing and con­sump­tion of pro­tect­ed species, in­clud­ing the red howler mon­key and the less­er anteater, as well as an up­surge of smug­gled wildlife from neigh­bour­ing Venezuela and Guyana.(Trinidad Guardian)…[+]

Japan is facing international condemnation after confirming it will resuming commercial whaling for the first time in more than 30 years. The country’s fleet will resume commercial operations in July next 2019, the government’s chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said of the decision to defy the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling.

Suga told reporters the country’s fleet would confine its hunts to Japanese territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, adding that its controversial annual expeditions to the Southern Ocean – a major source of diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Canberra – would end. He said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by 30 June.

Its decision prompted criticism from conservationists and other nations including the UK and Australia. The UK’s environment secretary, Michael Gove, said he was “extremely disappointed” by Japan’s move. He said in a tweet: “The UK is strongly opposed to commercial whaling and will continue to fight for the protection and welfare of these majestic mammals.”(theguardian)…[+]

ISLAMABAD – A Pakistan court yesterday  jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for seven years on graft charges that he says were politically motivated.

The anti-corruption court said in its ruling that the three-time prime minister was unable to prove the source of income that led to his ownership of a steel mill in Saudi Arabia. Sharif was sentenced in July to 10 years in prison by the same court, on charges related to the purchase of upscale apartments in London, after the Supreme Court removed him from power. He was released in September pending an appeal.

Sharif’s supporters said he would appeal.Nawaz Sharif. “Appeal is our right, we will protest but will remain peaceful,” former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who succeeded Sharif last year, told reporters outside the courthouse in Islamabad.

SEVERAL issues affecting operations at the National Water Commission (NWC) have caused major water lock-offs across the Corporate Area, the entity’s Corporate Public Relations Manager Charles Buchanan has said. In fact, water lock-offs are expected to affect Christmas Day activities in some households, even as the NWC carries out repair work on several broken pipelines.

“Yes, we are experiencing severe problems due to an unfortunate combination of issues, at the base of which is the major problem at the pipeline out at Ferry, which was broken and must be repaired,” Buchanan told the Jamaica Observeryesterday.

Added to that, Buchanan said that the country has entered into the usual dry season, accompanied by major and repeat breaks of pipelines along Spanish Town Road and on Constant Spring Road. “Those particular areas have critical distribution infrastructure, so whenever breaks occur on those pipes in the network, either the break itself causes a disruption in the supply or attempts to do the repairs forces a shutdown in the system — which causes disruption,” he said.(Jamaica Observer)…[+]

SAN SALVADOR – When El Salvador’s legislative assembly confirmed little-known Douglas Melendez as attorney general in 2016, many here thought it was business as usual in a country where high-level corruption has long gone unpunished.

But in less than three years, Melendez has put one former president in prison, investigated another and has a third in his sights. He has also jailed his predecessor, a judge and a top businessman, among others. Some in El Salvador’s political class have seen enough.

Congress must vote before January 5 on whether the 52-year-old career prosecutor can stay on for another three-year term. Despite international support, Melendez has powerful opponents in the ruling leftist party. El Salvador’s lawmakers could make their decision as soon as this week. Even if he survives that vote, the backlash is likely to continue. Melendez said he has received death threats. And the leading candidate in February’s presidential contest has talked of jail time for Melendez.(Reuters)…[+]

A ransom of $2 million has been demanded for the safe return of 32-year-old Sheldon Sukhdeo, police have confirmed. Police however said no money had been paid up to last night. The ransom demand was made following a telephone call on Wednesday morning when Sukhdeo made contact with relatives. Around 12.03 a.m. on Wednesday, the phone of Angela Sukhdeo, the mother of the kidnapped man, rang and Sukhdeo’s brother Ceronne answered. The call lasted exactly four minutes and three seconds, police said.(Trinidad Express)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN – The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) on December 13, 2018, approved funding for a project which will see 30,500 existing street lights replaced with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. The project is expected to reduce the cost of street lighting to the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas by about 20 percent when it is implemented, saving the country approximately USD3 million a year.

CDB is providing USD14.5 million through a loan to the Government which will cover project preparation assistance, infrastructure works, engineering services, goods and project management associated with the initiative. USD8.9 million of the funding comes from resources provided to CDB by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the Climate Action Line of Credit (CALC). The Bahamas Power and Light Company (BPL) will implement the project.

CDB Director of Projects, Daniel Best noted that street lighting makes up a significant portion of the Government’s electricity consumption and costs.

“Currently, street lighting accounts for more than 30 percent of the Bahamian Government’s electricity consumption and in fact, takes up 3 percent  of the country’s overall consumption. By implementing energy-efficient street lighting, The Bahamas will be able to save money, reduce its fuel import bill and cut its greenhouse gas emissions,” said Best. The Bahamas becomes the sixth CDB Borrowing Member Country (BMC) to benefit from the Bank’s financing of energy-efficient street lighting projects. Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname have received a combined USD59.3 million to support their shift to more energy-efficient public lighting….[+]