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☆ Colombia wants Biden admin. to grant temporary legal status to its citizens in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia wants the Biden administration to grant temporary legal status to its citizens now living in the United States, noting its own efforts to address regional migration by hosting 2 million Venezuelans who fled their homes. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, he asks President Joe Biden to grant Colombians already in the U.S. a form of temporary status called Deferred Enforced Departure. It is unclear how many Colombians are living in the United States without legal status. Murillo Urritia said there are nearly 2 million Colombians living in the United States, without elaborating on their immigration status. The Biden administration has extended temporary status for some countries and added Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Cameroon and Venezuela, reversing a Trump-era trend to cut back on protections for those already in the United States.

“Let’s say no to Norma Torres because she has caused so much harm to El Salvador,” one of the many tweets read. The State Department considers this an attempt to influence the elections. You can say someone is interfering with the election, you can call it election interference. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and his party Nuevas Ideas, or New Ideas, and its allies won the biggest congressional majority in the country’s history. Bukele and Torres met once in 2019 when she was with a congressional delegation visiting El Salvador.

☆ Honduras declares national emergency over gang extortions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Congress must still approve the suspension of constitutional rights, though the security plan came into force on Thursday. The declaration also authorizes the Honduran government to make extraordinary use of public funds to combat criminal gangs known for involvement in illicit activities such as kidnapping and drug trafficking. The leftist president announced the new plan to combat extortion afflicting the impoverished Central American nation in a television broadcast. In exchange for a so-called "war tax", gangs offer protection or say that those who pay up will not be killed. The gangs have torched buses and killed drivers who did not pay the fee, prompting businesses and people to pay out of fear.

☆ Ecuador's 'Superman' Valencia should be fit for Netherlands game
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Andrew Cawthorne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I hope to play in the second game against Holland." Coach Gustavo Alfaro was full of praise for his main man and was sure he would be fine for their next group game against three-time finalists the Netherlands. "Enner will play against the Netherlands - there is no doubt about that," he told reporters. SERENADED BY FANSEcuador punched their way out of arguably the world's toughest qualifying group, taking the fourth automatic berth for South America. The man who sometimes went hungry as a youth and sold cows' milk to pay for his boots has now netted the nation's last five World Cup goals.

☆ Qatar and Ecuador stick with trusted lineups
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AL KHOR, Qatar, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Hosts Qatar's top scorer Almoez Ali and fellow striker Akram Afif lead the line against Ecuador in Sunday's World Cup opener as coach Felix Sanchez stuck with stalwarts from a settled squad that has had longer than most to bond and prepare. Experienced midfielder Hasan Al-Haydos, who can also play on the wing, took the captaincy for the World Cup debutants and 2019 Asian Cup winners at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt stadium. Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro also named a predictable lineup, with Moises Caicedo anchoring the midfield and top scorer Enner Valencia leading the attack as captain. Ecuador: Hernan Galindez; Felix Torres; Piero Hincapie; Pervis Estupinan; Romario Ibarra; Michael Estrada; Enner Valencia; Angelo Preciado; Gonzalo Plata; Jhegson Mendez; Moises Caicedo. Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lula's team also worked to secure a jungle conservation alliance announced on Monday between the three largest rainforest nations - Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. That includes pushing for rich nations with high greenhouse gas emissions to pay poor nations for historic damage the climate. Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said Lula's election would allow for renewed regional cooperation among Amazon rainforest nations to tackle deforestation, a major contributor to climate change. Lula environmental advisor Izabella Teixeira said she felt the mood about Brazil has shifted at COP27 from previous summits. "When I come to COP and meet people after the election of President Lula, there is hope," she said.

An EU official said Lula would also meet on Wednesday with EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans. Last month, Lula defeated right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who oversaw mounting destruction of the Amazon rainforest and refused to host the 2019 climate summit originally planned for Brazil. His team also worked to secure a jungle conservation alliance announced on Monday between the three largest rainforest nations - Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia. They said other countries know Brazil will soon have a Lula government that has promised to take the issue more seriously than Bolsonaro, a climate change sceptic. Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said Lula's election would allow renewed regional cooperation among Amazon rainforest nations to tackle deforestation, a major contributor to climate change.

☆ Colombia economy grew 7% in Q3, beating expectations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Carlos Vargas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a Reuters poll last week analysts said they expected growth in Latin America's fourth-largest economy to slow amid moderating domestic consumption, rampant inflation and rising interest rates. read moreThe economy grew 1.6% in the third quarter versus the second quarter, DANE said. The finance sector registered 9.2% growth in the third quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, while retail expanded by 8.1%. In September the economy grew by 4.2%. read moreThe technical team of the country's central bank forecasts GDP growth for this year at 7.9% and 0.5% for 2023.

☆ Colombia's Petro: Ending war on drugs could bring peace to country in matter of months
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailColombia's Petro: Ending war on drugs could bring peace to country in matter of monthsColombian President Gustavo Petro at the Paris Peace Forum discusses the United States' role in democratic elections in Venezuela as well as the policy failures of the war on drugs.

☆ U.S. extends protected migrant status to mid-2024 for six nationalities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN SALVADOR, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The United States has extended a protected status program that prevents migrants from being deported to mid-2024 for citizens of six countries, including Haiti and three Central American nations, its immigration service said on Thursday. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be extended to June 30, 2024, for citizens of Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal, according to a document filed by the U.S. The TPS program provides recipients work permits and can protect them from deportation if their home countries go through extraordinary events such as natural disaster or armed conflict. The extension will affect about 392,000 people, of whom some 242,000 are citizens of El Salvador, according to USCIS data. "Thanks be to God," said Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States Milena Mayorga, tweeting a link to the document.

☆ Every World Cup 2022 squad announced: USMNT, Germany, Belgium and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —‘Tis the season for wall charts and fans gathering around to pick their starting teams for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. “It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying and isn’t going to be a part of the program. Again, it’s more about who we did add that we felt good about.”All but one of the 26 will be making their World Cup debut at this year’s tournament and, according to the USMNT, it will be the youngest team to qualify for the World Cup. Octavio Passos/Getty Images Europe/Getty ImagesGhanaManager: Otto AddoThe final squad has not been announced yet. READ: Meet Otto Addo, the coach responsible for guiding some of Europe’s brightest young talents (2021)—–PortugalManager: Fernando SantosThe final squad has not been announced yet.

☆ Colombia Unnerves Markets With Higher Taxes on Oil, Wealth to Boost Antipoverty Spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombia is set to increase taxes on wealthy individuals and extractive industries to pay for antipoverty and rural development initiatives, as the leftist government grapples with a fall in the peso that has outpaced that of most emerging market currencies. Investor concerns over the government’s progressive platform are overblown, Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo said in an interview Friday. He said critics are generating hysteria that has led to a 20% drop in the peso’s value against the U.S. dollar since President Gustavo Petro took office Aug. 7.

☆ Colombian $4 billion tax reform becomes law, duties on oil and coal hiked
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Carlos Vargas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Colombia's Congress on Thursday approved a tax reform bill that will raise an additional 20 trillion pesos ($4 billion) annually for the next four years, in part through increased duties on oil and coal. The new law, the centrepiece of new President Gustavo Petro's economic policies, seeks to fund social projects and put the country's public finances in order. The new law states that oil companies will be taxed an additional 5% when international prices are between $67.3 and $75 per barrel. Oil and mining companies will also not be able to deduct the value of royalties from income taxes. ($1 = 5,015.84 Colombian pesos)Reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The GOP, especially in South Florida, is trying to portray Democrats as "socialists" and soft on foreign policy, with Taddeo touting her hard-line stance against leftist governments. Salazar and Taddeo have similar hard-line foreign positions against the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Taddeo, according to a spokesperson, feels current foreign policy toward Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua cannot change until there are democratic transitions in those countries. There are about 275,000 Colombian eligible voters in Florida and a significant number live in the district. The two candidates recently left many puzzled when they tweeted that former Colombian President Iván Duque seemingly supports both of them.

☆ Venezuela's long-suffering manufacturers face new challenge: Colombian imports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The change opens Venezuela to more imports from its neighbor as domestic manufacturers are still struggling, though some got a boost from a de facto dollarization. Tini's company Full Time, one of Venezuela's largest shoe manufacturers, is set to increase production to 20,000 pairs this year from 12,000 in 2021, but imports worry him. Local industries "cannot compete on equal terms with Colombian products," said Luigi Pisella, president of Conindustria, one of the top business associations representing Venezuela's manufacturers. Between January and August this year, the Colombian government's DANE statistics agency valued the country's exports to Venezuela at some $400 million while Venezuelan imports to Colombia were just $56 million. Business people said there are few incentives for manufacturers, high taxes and not enough efforts to combat inflation.

☆ Late Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Dropped From Shareholder Suit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Gone are claims from the original 24-page complaint that Mr. Arnal and Mr. Cohen colluded to boost the company’s share price. Bed Bath & Beyond has said the lawsuit was without merit. Bed Bath & Beyond and Mr. Cohen, along with JP Morgan Securities LLC, are still named as defendants in the suit, which seeks class-action status. Bed Bath & Beyond shares traded around $4.05 on Wednesday, down more than 70% since the beginning of the year. Mr. Toll said he hadn’t heard from Bed Bath & Beyond or Mr. Arnal’s estate leading up to the filing of the amended complaint.

☆ Late Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Dropped From Suit Alleging Collusion With Ryan Cohen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

“There’s plenty of grief in his family, and us making it even worse didn’t seem worth it,” Mr. Toll said. Gone are claims from the original 24-page complaint that Mr. Arnal and Mr. Cohen colluded to boost the company’s share price. Bed Bath & Beyond and Mr. Cohen, along with JP Morgan Securities LLC, are still named as defendants in the suit, which seeks class-action status. Mr. Cohen unloaded his entire stake in Bed Bath & Beyond in mid-August. Bed Bath & Beyond shares traded around $4.05 on Wednesday, down more than 70% since the beginning of the year.

☆ Hurricane Lisa strikes coast near top Belize port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jose Sanchez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BELIZE CITY, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lisa bore down on Belize on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported in a bulletin, predicting it will later move across the jungles of northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Weather models show Lisa's heavy rainfall and powerful winds will likely target tourist destinations in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico's Caribbean-facing Yucatan Peninsula, dotted by beach resorts, pristine coral reefs and Mayan ruins. The eye of Lisa, now at Category 1 strength, is currently located about 5 miles (8 km) south of Belize City, the tiny Caribbean country's commercial hub, as it churns westward. Palm trees buckled as winds picked up in the Caribbean port city, as residents reported water and power outages plus some flooding. The Belize government's emergency services announced on Wednesday afternoon a state of emergency including a curfew across two districts covering large swathes of its Caribbean coast through Thursday.

[1/2] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the meeting with Colombia's President Gustavo Petro (not pictured) at Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela November 1, 2022. "We are working on resuming the dialogue process in November," said one of the people familiar with the arrangements. Maduro and Colombia President Gustavo Petro said in a joint statement on Tuesday they hoped for "a successful return" to the dialogues. This makes resumption of talks crucial for the opposition coalition, which has been diminished by exile, imprisonment of leaders, internal fractures and lack of funds. The talks were abandoned by Maduro's envoys a year ago after disagreements over the extradition of an ally of the Venezuelan president who faces money laundering charges.

☆ Hurricane Lisa edges close to Belize barrier reef, major port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lisa will strike coastal Belize Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted, edging very close to the country's barrier reef before it moves across northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Weather models show Lisa's heavy rains and dangerous winds likely targeting some top tourist destinations in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico's Caribbean-facing Yucatan Peninsula, dotted by beach resorts, pristine coral reefs and Mayan ruins. The Category 1 hurricane was about 35 miles (60 km) east-southeast of Belize City, a major port, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 km per hour), the Miami-based NHC said in a bulletin. Belize's national emergency organization said borders would close at 2 p.m. (2000 GMT), with ports and airports shuttering. President Alejandro Giammattei of neighboring Guatemala told a news conference food rations were being sent to vulnerable areas.

☆ Colombia, Venezuela Leaders Meet Amid Thawing Relations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BOGOTÁ, Colombia—The leaders of Colombia and Venezuela met Tuesday for the first time in six years, the latest sign of how new leftist governments in Latin America are breaking from a U.S.-led campaign that unsuccessfully sought to oust Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro . Colombian President Gustavo Petro , a former guerrilla who once held close ties to Venezuela’s ruling socialist party, traveled to Caracas to have lunch with Mr. Maduro and discuss bilateral trade. Mr. Petro said he would also call on Mr. Maduro to commit to promoting democracy in the region and ending political persecution.

☆ Latin America's 'pink tide' leaders congratulate Brazil's Lula on election win
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Latin America leaders on Sunday congratulated Brazil's Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva after he won a third term as president of the largest country in South America, consolidating the region's "pink tide" of elected leftist leaders. His victory over far-right president Jair Bolsonaro leaves Brazil joining Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru in a growing leftist bloc. "Long live Lula," tweeted Colombia's Gustavo Petro, who in June was elected his country's first leftist president. But the pink tide returned as rampant inflation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led frustrated voters in Latin America to ditch mainstream parties and follow promises of greater social spending. "Your victory strengthens democracy and integration in Latin America."

☆ Suspension of oil exploration in Colombia would be high risk -fiscal paneld
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Income derived from hydrocarbon exploration and production in Colombia is key to the country's financial stability and its trade balance, its fiscal rule committee said on Monday, and suspension of exploration would put fiscal sustainability at risk. Hydrocarbons represent nearly 40% of exports, 20% of foreign direct investment and between 10% and 20% of the national government's income, the Autonomous Fiscal Rule Committee (CARF), which oversees public finances, said in a statement. "Certainty about future income is indispensable to maintain financing sources and an adequate level of risk," it said. The high level of public debt is a fiscal risk and high interest rates, increased risk premiums and a deep depreciation of the peso currency will mean higher interest rates on the country's debt, CARF said. For that reason it is important that planning for the resources which come from the tax reform is done in concurrence with the fiscal rule and its objective to reduce net debt."

☆ Colombia's finance minister asks central bank to discuss futures markets liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo has asked the country's central bank to discuss liquidity in futures markets in its monthly meeting this Friday, he said on Wednesday, at a time when local currency and public debt are experiencing turbulence from domestic uncertainty. "There is an issue that I have asked the (central) bank for us to discuss on Friday about futures markets, about how liquid or not those futures markets are," Ocampo told reporters. In 2020, during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, Colombia's central bank took extraordinary measures to boost liquidity, such as foreign exchange hedging via auctions for the sale of dollars through forward operations, or "swaps." In a recent Reuters poll, 12 out of 14 analysts forecast the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 11% on Friday. One of the analysts projected a hike of 75 basis points and another forecast an increase of 50 basis points.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond shares fall after interim CEO Sue Gove appointed to position permanently
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bed Bath & Beyond said Wednesday that it has appointed interim Sue Gove to the position permanently. Bed Bath is trying to reverse declining sales, win back customers and strengthen relationships with suppliers. In late August, Bed Bath announced cost cuts and a new loan on a call with investors. Without those items this holiday season, Bed Bath could have a hard time competing with rivals like Amazon, Target and Walmart. Bed Bath is having its first supplier summit on Wednesday, which the company said will strengthen those relationships.

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