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☆ Taiwan told to vacate embassy in Honduras after ties severed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A vehicle leaves the Taiwan Embassy after Honduras has given Taiwan 30 days to vacate its embassy after severing relations with Taiwan in favor of China, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 26, 2023. REUTERS/Fredy RodriguezTEGUCIGALPA , March 27 (Reuters) - Taiwan must vacate its embassy in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa in 30 days, a senior Honduran official said on Monday, after President Xiomara Castro severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China in a bid for more assistance from the Asian giant. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects. Taipei's embassy in the leafy Palmira neighborhood was for years one of the Central American capital's most prominent foreign outposts, as well as the country's second-biggest embassy after the U.S. embassy. The move left Taiwan with only 13 formal allies, mostly poor and developing countries in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

☆ Honduras ends decades-long diplomatic ties with Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TEGUCIGALPA, March 25 (Reuters) - Honduras said on Saturday it was ending its decades-long diplomatic relations with Taiwan, bringing it closer to China as it expands its footprint in Central America. "The government of Honduras recognises the existence of just one China," the Honduran foreign ministry said in a post on Twitter. The ministry said Honduras had notified Taiwan of its decision to break ties, and that it would not return to having any relationship or official contact with Taiwan. The Honduran foreign minister travelled to China this week to open relations after President Xiomara Castro said her government would start ties with Beijing, Honduras being one of only 14 countries to formally recognise Taiwan. China views Taiwan as one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a view the democratically elected government in Taipei strongly disputes.

☆ Honduras forms diplomatic ties with China after Taiwan break
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The national flags of Honduras and Taiwan are seen at the Republic of China Square in Tegucigalpa on March 15, 2023. Honduras formed diplomatic ties with China on Sunday after breaking off relations with Taiwan, which is increasingly isolated and now recognized by only 13 sovereign states, including Vatican City. Relations between Taiwan and Honduras were once stable, he said, but China had not stopped luring Honduras. "The Castro government dismissed our nation's longstanding assistance and relations and carried out talks to form diplomatic ties with China. The U.S. doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific.

☆ U.S. warns China's promises often empty as Honduras wavers on Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The flags of Taiwan and Honduras flutter in the wind outside the Taiwan Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 15, 2023. At stake is China's growing footprint in Central America, once a steadfast base for Taiwan and where the United States is worried about Beijing's expanding influence in its backyard. The American Institute in Taiwan said that while Honduras' possible severing of ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing was a sovereign decision, China does not always follow through on its promises. The Honduras drama is happening ahead of a high-profile visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States and Central America next week. The United States also has no official ties with Taiwan but is the island's most important international backer and arms supplier.

☆ Inflation, migration in focus at regional Ibero-American summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Paul Mathiasen And Jesus Frias | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Honduras President Xiomara Castro attends at the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 25, 2023. Dominican Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERSSANTO DOMINGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Leaders attending the Ibero-American Summit meeting in the Dominican Republic on Saturday highlighted rising inflation and migration as risks to the stability of the region. "Today migration management constitutes one of the great regional challenges," said Chilean President Gabriel Boric. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, meanwhile, canceled his attendance at the Ibero-American summit after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, though he has since tested negative twice, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said. Reporting by Paul Mathiasen and Jesus Frias in Santo Domingo and Marco Aquino in Lima Writing by Cassandra Garrison Editing by Matthew Lewis and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ As Cuba election day nears, some voters ask, 'why bother?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HAVANA, March 22 (Reuters) - Like a growing number of Cubans, 77-year-old Havana resident Humberto Avila says he will likely sit out Sunday's legislative elections. The retired university professor says he's done the math - 470 candidates, 470 open seats - and sees no point in voting. Abstention has spiked in recent elections, rising to a four-decade high of 31% of eligible voters in municipal elections in November. "This vote is for the Revolution ... and to continue to defend our socialist system," Diaz-Canel told textile workers in Santa Clara. Rey Lazaro Blanco, a 19-year old geography student at the University of Havana, told Reuters he will vote on Sunday.

☆ Honduras demanded $2.5 bln in Taiwan aid before China announcement-source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, March 22 (Reuters) - Honduras demanded $2.5 billion in aid from Taiwan the day before Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted her government would seek to open relations with China, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Wednesday. Castro tweeted on March 14 she had instructed the country's foreign minister to bring about the opening of official relations with China, though her government has yet to formally end ties with Taiwan. Reina said Honduras had asked Taiwan to double its annual aid to $100 million but never received an answer. Taking lawmaker questions in parliament earlier on Wednesday, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang said the government will not "lightly give up" on trying to keep Honduras and was "still working hard". Normally when countries break off diplomatic ties with Taiwan the announcement is swift, with Taiwan maybe only getting an hour or so's notice, diplomatic sources told Reuters.

☆ Honduran official: US 'respects' decision on China relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TEGUCIGALPA, March 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. government said it "respects" Honduras' decision to move towards establishing formal diplomatic ties with China, the Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina said on Monday after a meeting with U.S. officials. Reina said Honduras' President Xiomara Castro made "general comments" on the decision during the meeting attended by different officials such as U.S. Special Presidential Adviser for the Americas Chris Dodd. Castro announced last week the country would seek diplomatic ties with Beijing, a move that risks further reducing Taiwan's pool of allies as China does not allow countries with which it has diplomatic relations to maintain official ties with Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes. Since 2016, when Tsai Ing-wen was elected Taiwan's president, Panama, El Salvador and most recently, Nicaragua, have opted to establish relations with China.

"We truly don't know whether it will be days or weeks or months," a U.S. government official told Reuters on background. Since 2016, when Tsai Ing-wen was elected Taiwan's president, Panama, El Salvador and most recently, Nicaragua, have changed sides. China does not allow countries to hold diplomatic ties with both itself and Taiwan, regarding the island as its territory. "If Honduras' switch to Beijing is formalized, Taiwan will have just 13 diplomatic allies, including Belize and Guatemala. Reporting by Sarah Kinosian in Mexico City and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Dave Graham and Lincoln Feast.

☆ Taiwan, facing loss of ally Honduras, says it won't bow to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] The flags of Taiwan and Honduras flutter in the wind outside the Taiwan Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 15, 2023. On Tuesday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced the government would seek diplomatic ties with Beijing, which would come at the expense of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. "Over the years we have worked together with our diplomatic allies to support their national development plans in elevating the welfare of their people," he added. If Honduras ditched Taiwan, it would leave the island with only 13 diplomatic allies, mostly small and developing nations in Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific. China says Taiwan is one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a view the democratically elected government in Taipei strongly rejects.

☆ Taiwan warns Honduras against 'poison' of taking aid from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The flags of Taiwan and Honduras flutter in the wind outside the Taiwan Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 15, 2023. Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had asked her foreign minister to open official relations with China. "We remind the Honduran government that it should not quench its thirst with poison, even if fully parched by debt obligations," the Taiwan ministry said. Reina said Honduras had asked Taiwan to double its annual aid to $100 million but never received an answer. Taiwan denied that, saying comments from the Honduran foreign minister did not reflect facts of their communications.

☆ Muzinich & Co. discusses why SNB can't invest more in Credit Suisse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSaudi National Bank cannot invest more in Credit Suisse for regulatory reasons: Investment firmTatjana Greil Castro of Muzinich & Co. discusses the crisis that Credit Suisse faces and the reasons Saudi National Bank cannot invest more in it.

☆ Senior U.S. envoy to travel to Honduras as it considers China ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TEGUCIGALPA, March 16 (Reuters) - A high-ranking envoy of President Joe Biden will travel to Panama and Honduras this month, the U.S. Department of State said on Thursday, days after Taiwan ally Honduras said it would establish formal diplomatic ties with China. "China has been suppressing Taiwan's diplomacy, so it will invest funds related to specific countries in order to block Taiwan's diplomatic development," he said. "Therefore, we very much hope that Honduras can recognize the true nature of China and hope they maintain diplomatic relations and not be deceived." While the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier. China says Taiwan is one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a view the democratically elected government in Taipei strongly rejects.

☆ Taiwan warns Honduras against 'poison' of aid from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The flags of Taiwan and Honduras flutter in the wind outside the Taiwan Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras March 15, 2023. Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had asked her foreign minister to open official relations with China. Reina said Honduras had asked Taiwan to double its annual aid to $100 million but never received an answer. Taiwan denied that, saying comments from the Honduran foreign minister did not reflect facts of their communications. China does not allow countries with which it has diplomatic relations to maintain official ties with Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes.

☆ Bodycam footage shows cops forcefully arresting a Black family at a Starbucks car park. A jury awarded them $8.25 million in damages.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Black mother and her two daughters were detained at a Starbucks car park in California in 2019. A California jury awarded the family more than $8 million on Wednesday, court documents show. After an altercation, Holland ordered all three family members out of the car and detained them, the video shows. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's for comment. It happened in a Starbucks car park, not in the actual shop.

TEGUCIGALPA, March 15 (Reuters) - Honduras' decision to seek official relations with China and cut them with Taiwan on Tuesday was about "pragmatism, not ideology," driven by rising debt and investment needs, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said on Wednesday. China does not allow countries to hold diplomatic ties with both itself and Taiwan as it claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, which Taiwan disputes. Speaking on local television, Reina said Honduras was "up to its neck" in financial issues and debt - including the $600 million it owes Taiwan - and this had partly motivated Honduras' decision to open relations with China. Honduras' decision puts pressure on Taiwan ahead of a visit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the U.S. and Central America. Honduras intends to keep trade ties with Taiwan, however, Reina added during his television appearance.

☆ Factbox: Taiwan's diplomatic allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan faces losing another diplomatic ally after Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had instructed the country's foreign minister to bring about the opening of official relations with China. China views democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan's government strongly disputes. Over the years, China has slowly whittled away at the number of countries which maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. If Honduras does end relations with Taiwan, it will leave the island with only 13 diplomatic allies. Here is a list of the states that still maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan:LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEANBelizeGuatemalaHondurasParaguayHaitiSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesPACIFICMarshall IslandsNauruPalauTuvaluAFRICAEswatiniEUROPEVatican CityWriting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Honduras president says govt to seek official relations with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TEGUCIGALPA, March 14 (Reuters) - Honduras President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had instructed the country's foreign minister to bring about the opening of official relations with China. Honduras' foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the announcement. China does not allow countries with which it has diplomatic relations to maintain official ties with Taiwan. If Honduras breaks off its relations with Taiwan, it would leave it with formal diplomatic ties with only 13 countries. Taiwan's foreign ministry said it was "in the process of understanding" the situation, without giving further details.

☆ Bodycam footage shows cops forcefully arresting a Black family at Starbucks. A jury awarded them $8.25 million in damages.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Black mother and her two daughters were detained at a Starbucks in California in September 2019. Bodycam footage shows the family were handcuffed after the mother refused to show her ID. A California jury awarded the family more than $8 million on Wednesday, court documents show. After an altercation, Holland ordered all three family members out of the car and detained them, the video shows. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's for comment.

☆ Honduras lifts decade-long ban on 'morning after pill'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Castro, the country's first female president, took office last year after running on the promise of rolling back the country's restrictive reproductive policies. Honduras, a heavily Catholic nation, banned the use and sale of the morning after pill in 2009, arguing the emergency contraception would cause abortions. Castro, who signed the order on International Women's Day, tweeted that the morning after pill was "part of women's reproductive rights, and not abortive," citing the World Health Organization. The year before Castro took office, Honduras' Congress passed a constitutional reform to protect anti-abortion laws, requiring a three-fourths vote to change them. Between 50,000 to 80,000 clandestine abortions occur each year in the country, according to a 2019 estimate from local rights groups.

☆ Brazil's Santander to sell 40% of WebMotors to Carsales.com for $240 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Santander Brasil SA said on Tuesday it will sell 40% of car-selling platform WebMotors to Australia's Carsales.com (CAR.AX) for 1.24 billion reais ($238.87 million). Carsales will hold 70% of WebMotors after the deal is concluded, while Santander will own the remaining 30%. The lender will continue as a partner of the platform in providing credit, insurance and other financial solutions to its users. The deal will be accompanied by a capital increase of A$500 million ($329 million) in Carsales, Santander said. ($1 = 5.1910 reais)($1 = 1.5188 Australian dollars)Reporting by Fabricio de Castro; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by Isabel WoodfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cuba's president meets CEO of Russia's Rosneft amid fuel shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, March 5 (Reuters) - Russian oil firm Rosneft's CEO Igor Sechin met with Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel late on Saturday, the island's leader said, amid an acute fuel shortage that has service stations temporarily shuttered and hours-long gasoline queues. Several tweets on Cuba's Presidency account emphasized the good relations between the two countries, but did not specify the reason for the visit by the state-run oil firm's boss. Cuba's former leader Raul Castro has also flown to Caracas for the occasion, Cuban state-run media said. Russia, hit by Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, is looking to strengthen political and economic ties with other countries opposed to what it calls U.S. hegemony. Cuba has been under a U.S. economic embargo since 1962 after a Communist revolution led by former leader Fidel Castro.

☆ Sen. Dianne Feinstein hospitalized with shingles in San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Zoë Richards | Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday she was hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles after she missed Senate votes this week. In a statement, Feinstein, 89, said she got the shingles diagnosis while the Senate was in recess late last month. "I have been hospitalized and am receiving treatment in San Francisco and expect to make a full recovery," Feinstein said. Feinstein, the oldest sitting senator and the longest-serving senator from California, was first elected to the Senate in 1992. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., recently returned to Washington after having undergone surgery last month for prostate cancer.

☆ Spring training roundup: Pirates, O’s play unneeded bottom of 9th
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Orioles catcher Maverick Handley called balls and strikes thrown by teammate right-hander Ofreidy Gomez during the half inning. The Pirates opened a 5-0 lead before the Orioles put up four runs across the fifth and sixth innings, thanks in part to Franchy Cordero's two-run home run. Kevin Pillar had a two-run homer and an RBI single to power the Braves' offense. Phillies 7, Blue Jays 2Trea Turner hit a two-run single and finished 2-for-3 with a run as host Philadelphia took care of Toronto in Clearwater, Fla. Jace Peterson cracked a three-run homer for the Athletics.

[1/5] Maylin Amador, 42, poses for a photo with Gucci, her bichon habanero, the national dog of Cuba, in Havana, Cuba, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, March 1 (Reuters) - Maylin Amador breeds and styles one of Cuba's most attractive dogs - the Havanese bichon, a small but lively lapdog with abundant waves of tobacco-colored hair, and the Caribbean island's only native breed. "It is difficult to raise this animal because it bathes every four days," she said, as she prepares her dog Gucci for a national competition. The dog - considered the island's national breed - was popular among Cuban aristocrats before the Fidel Castro-led 1959 revolution. Evelio Fernandez, president of the Cuban "Bichon Havanese" club, told Reuters the association currently counts over 1,400 Havanese, and that the dog was officially recognized as Cuban in 2016.

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