International
Nearly 8-mn in LatAm risk food insecurity: UN body
AFP
A sharp economic slowdown and rising inflation threatens to swell the ranks of food insecure people in Latin America and the Caribbean by nearly eight million, a UN body said Monday.
Poverty will increase in 2022, with average annual economic growth of 1.8 percent following on 6.3 percent registered last year, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said in a report.
The commission had earlier forecast growth of 2.1 percent for the region in 2022, but adjusted the figure downward due to the inflationary effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“The region confronts domestic contexts marked by a sharp economic slowdown, rising inflation and a slow and incomplete recovery of labor markets, which will increase poverty and extreme poverty levels,” it said.
“As a result, 7.8 million people are forecast to join the 86.4 million others whose food security is already at risk.”
The commission said annual inflation rose to 8.1 percent in April from 6.6 percent by the end of 2021, and was forecast to remain high.
Combining the effects of slow growth and fast inflation, especially food inflation, levels of poverty and extreme poverty will rise, said the ECLAC.
“The incidence of regional poverty is seen reaching 33.7 percent (1.6 percentage points above the value projected for 2021), while extreme poverty is seen rising to 14.9 percent (1.1 percentage points more than in 2021).”
“These levels are markedly higher than those seen before the pandemic and entail another setback in the fight against poverty.”
The commission urged the adoption of monetary policy that will limit inflation, as well as a focus on food security.
“International trade in food and fertilizers should not be restricted since doing so would accelerate inflation and hurt those who are poorest,” it said.
“Officials must also consider measures such as maintaining or increasing food subsidies, implementing agreements with producers and marketing chains to contain prices of items in the basic food basket, and reducing or eliminating tariffs on imports of grains and other basic products.”
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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