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☆ Honduras extends, expands state of emergency meant to fight crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Fredy Rodriguez/File PhotoTEGUCIGALPA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The Honduran government on Saturday extended a state of emergency declaration for 45 days, expanding it to additional areas of the country in an effort to fight criminal gangs amid high levels of violence. The state of emergency, in place since Dec. 6 in 165 areas of Honduras' largest two cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, has been expanded to 235 of the country's 298 municipalities, the national police said. Police chief Gustavo Sanchez said the decision, based on what he told journalists were good results during December, will allow continued reductions in crime and violence. During the first month of the measures, 39 criminal gangs were destroyed and 652 people were arrested, while 43 kilos of cocaine and thousands of grams and rocks of crack were seized, the police said. Reporting by Orfa Mejia in Tegucigalpa; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Treasury says consumer leases can qualify for EV tax credits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The announcement is a win for South Korea and some automakers that earlier this month sought approval to use the commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access. The $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August ended $7,500 consumer tax credits for purchases of electric vehicles assembled outside North America, angering South Korea, the European Union, Japan and others. Treasury said it was using "longstanding tax principles" to determine consumer leasing could qualify for the EV tax credit. The commercial credit does not, however, have the sourcing restrictions of the consumer credit. That law lifts the 200,000-vehicle per manufacturer cap that had made Tesla (TSLA.O) and General Motors (GM.N) ineligible for EV tax credits starting Jan. 1.

☆ Latin America's 'pink tide' may have hit its high-water mark
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Brad Haynes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Alessandro Cinque/File PhotoDec 22 (Reuters) - Dramatic elections in Brazil, Chile and Colombia brought leftist governments into power across much of Latin America in 2022, capping the region's second "pink tide" in two decades. Chilean President Gabriel Boric, 36, took office in March as his country's most progressive leader in half a century and its youngest ever. Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 77, who narrowly beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in October, is a holdover from the region's first pink tide, when a commodity boom helped him finish his 2003-2010 presidency with record approval. WHAT IT MEANS FOR 2023The region's new pink tide has a distinct green tint, as progressive movements have embraced the fight against climate change. Castillo, ousted about a year and a half after his election, may not be the only leftist leader to face difficult times.

They had traveled there in anticipation that the COVID-19 restrictions, known as Title 42, would be lifted on Wednesday as ordered by a U.S. court. Title 42 allows U.S. authorities to rapidly expel migrants to Mexico and other countries without a chance to seek U.S. asylum. But in an last-minute move, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed Title 42 to remain in place temporarily while a Republican legal challenge seeking to extend the measures is decided. Under Title 42, the United States typically can only expel migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela to Mexico. Title 42 was originally issued in March 2020 under Republican former President Donald Trump at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

☆ Airlines can price climate change into your plane ticket. There are reasons to not buy it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

United Airlines , for example, has committed to net zero carbon by 2050 without any contribution from traditional carbon offsets. Southwest Airlines ' "Wanna offset carbon?" Consumer psychology and the environmentIt's not just about the dollar amount of the carbon offset purchase in the consumer psychology. If airline travelers want to stay environmentally conscious without paying carbon offset fees, Keyes recommends choosing cheaper airlines when traveling. "It's true that we all have a part to play in reducing carbon emissions.

☆ A former Disney Imagineer started out carving iconic theme-park signs from wood. Now he's a craftsman making custom works of art for Disney fans that cost $50,000 and take 350 hours.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A recent commission of a "Beauty and the Beast"-themed mantel face measuring 6 feet by 14 inches took Kinman, by his estimate, around 350 hours from August to November. 2022 — 'Beauty and the Beast' mantel face (private collection)Kinman's 'Beauty and the Beast' mantel face was for a private collection in Oregon. The other side of the mantel face depicts the characters Mrs. Potts and Chip. Here he's carving a door out of mahogany. He's also excited about a carving he's been commissioned to do of Scrooge McDuck sitting in his money room.

☆ Honduras to sign agreement for U.N. anti-corruption mission
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Gustavo Palencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Honduras will sign an agreement Thursday to install a United Nations-backed anti-corruption mission in the country, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday, making good on a key campaign pledge of President Xiomara Castro to root out graft. The foreign ministry tweeted that the agreement will be signed Thursday, but later took down the post. Hernandez was extradited to the United States earlier this year on drug-trafficking charges. A similar mission supported by the Organization of the American States (OAS) operated in Honduras until January 2020, but disbanded after then-President Hernandez let its mandate expire. The OAS mission, called the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), was created in 2016 and led corruption investigations into officials, legislators and Hernandez himself.

☆ Nayib Bukele war on gangs: El Salvador has arrested 2% of its adult population. Other countries are taking note
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Eight months since El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced a war on gangs, an estimated 2% of the country’s adult population – or roughly 100,000 people – are now behind bars. In 2015, El Salvador surpassed Honduras as the most violent country in the world, with a murder rate of more than 100 per 100,000 inhabitants. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks to around 14,000 soldiers in El Salvador. Alleged gang members at a maximum security prison in Izalco, El Salvador, on September 4, 2020. “It is not that they are interested in El Salvador (they never were), their fear is that we will succeed, because other governments will want to imitate it.

☆ Animals Are Running Out of Places to Live
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | Lauren Leatherby | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

In many places, poverty, powerful interests and a lack of law enforcement make habitat loss especially hard to address. Because animals there often have smaller ranges to begin with, habitat loss hits them especially hard. “That's the ultimate challenge of forest conservation globally.”Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Est. habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Estimated habitat in 2001 MADAGASCAR Source: Map of Life | Photo: Chien C. Lee MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE Habitat loss in 2021 MADAGASCARThis is the 2001 habitat of the white-headed lemur, a primate that eats fruit and flowers. Of the many targets being negotiated, the one that has gotten the most attention seeks to address habitat loss head on.

☆ Reaction in Americas region to ousting of Peru's Castillo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF BRAZIL"I followed with great concern the events that led to the constitutional removal of the president of Peru, Pedro Castillo. COSTA RICA FOREIGN MINISTRY"Costa Rica deeply regrets the decision of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo regarding the dissolution of the Congress of the Republic ... because it represents a rupture in the constitutional order." EVO MORALES, FORMER PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA, ON TWITTER"Our deep concern for the political crisis affecting the sister Republic of Peru. "Beyond mistakes and successes, our brother Pedro Castillo and his family deserve humane treatment. HONDURAS FOREIGN MINISTRY"The Honduran foreign ministry energetically condemns the coup d'etat in Peru, which is the result of a series of events meant to erode democracy and the sovereign will of the people represented by President Pedro Castillo."

☆ Honduras to suspend some constitutional rights to fight gang violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The government of Honduras announced on Saturday that it will suspend some constitutional rights in areas of two main cities controlled by criminal groups. The cities have been struggling with a so-called "war tax", in which 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. The measure, which is expected to be endorsed by the council of ministers, is part of President Xiomara Castro's plan to deal with violent gangs. Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Edited by Noé Torres and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trolls, propaganda & fear stoke Bukele's media machine in El Salvador
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

In examining Bukele’s media operation, Reuters interviewed more than 70 people, including former media operatives and social media researchers. It showed Bukele with an 86% approval rating in El Salvador, making him the most popular leader in the region. “The threat in El Salvador used to be from the gangs, now it's from the state,” said Angelica Carcamo, the organization's president. “I found a lot more manipulation in El Salvador than in Mexico,” Escorcia said. A native of Guatemala, Torres has been critical of the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras for creating conditions that spur migration.

“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.

☆ No place for flowers: El Salvador's biggest lake swamped by trash
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Jose Cabezas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAKE SUCHITLAN, El Salvador, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A horse wades through a sea of plastic bottles, tin cans and green sludge that fills El Salvador's largest freshwater lake, stark images showing how a key drinking water source goes neglected even as global environmental concerns are on the rise. Known locally as Suchitlan, meaning "place of flowers" in the indigenous Nahuatl language, the Cerron Grande reservoir's ecosystem is home to native fish, waterbirds and mammals such as cougars and ocelots. [1/5] Members of "Piedra del Idioma" (Language Stone), a cooperative of fishermen and farmers, clean the the El Cerron Grande reservoir in Potonico, El Salvador September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas 1 2 3 4 5The reservoir's mounting trash comes from the Lempa River, which flows from the Guatemalan highlands via neighboring Honduras, before settling in Cerron Grande, located at the foot of El Salvador's biggest hydroelectric dam. El Salvador is one of Latin America's poorest nations.

☆ Analysis: First U.S. coral insurance marks the rise of the reef brigades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Clare Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

On Monday, the global 'Reef Brigades' plan came closer to reality when it bought an insurance policy on behalf of the state of Hawaii, the first U.S. coral insurance contract, which will provide funds for repair work, building on similar policies taken out in the Caribbean. Apart from being a precious nursery for fish, coral reefs that fringe developed coastlines can limit flooding by providing a barrier against ocean storm surges, meaning insurers have every interest in protecting them. For the premium of $110,000 in Hawaii's contract announced on Monday, that state will get up to $2 million of insurance protection for its coral reefs until the end of December 2023. Just offshore from some of the country's most famous Mayan ruins, local tourism businesses and the government bought an insurance policy to cover their share of the Mesoamerican Reef. Willis Towers Watson, which worked on the MAR Fund policy and the Hawaii policy, said it is actively working on a coral reef policy for Fiji, and policies for coral reef bleaching, run-off due to excessive rainfall, and lost fishing days due to climate change-induced storms.

☆ In Latin America, mothers of LGBTQ children fight against prejudice
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Founded in 2017, the Latin American Movement of Mothers of LGTB+ Children lobbies governments to eliminate prejudical laws and better enforce existing bans on violence and discrimination. Members of the Latin American Movement of Mothers of LGTB+ Children during a march in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 5. The Latin American Movement of Mothers of LGTB+ Children held its first in-person meeting in early November in Buenos Aires, where they attended the annual massive gay pride march on Nov. 5. In some countries, mothers who try to help their children deal with discrimination suddenly find themselves the subject of scrutiny. Delfín said that she is one of two mothers in Santa Cruz who are activists fighting for their LGBTQ children.

☆ Half a world apart, Biden counters Russia by touting the alliances that Trump mocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Attending a summit meeting in Bali when the missile hit Poland, Biden quickly arranged the meeting with the leaders of France, Germany, Canada and other allies. Most of the leaders in attendance have agreed to sign on, a Biden administration official said. “We, of course, are ready to stand with our NATO allies and partners,” Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, told reporters. NATO, and the mutual defense obligation that underlies it, was nearly a casualty of the Trump administration. They’re still looking for him.” Left unsaid was that as president, Trump skipped summit meetings with Asian leaders in 2018, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place.

☆ What Title 42 is and how it connects to El Paso migrants
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The judge’s order ending Title 42 isn’t scheduled to go into effect until December 21. Is there a connection between Title 42 and what’s been happening in El Paso? At this point there isn’t any known connection between the rise in crossings and the looming end of Title 42. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters“We’re talking about Title 42 being lifted and what that would do here in the community. “Title 42 was never about public health, and this ruling finally ends the charade of using Title 42 to bar desperate asylum seekers from even getting a hearing,” he said in a statement.

Nov 12 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has accepted the resignation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Christopher Magnus, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The White House statement comes a day after U.S. media reported that Magnus had been asked to resign or was fired in a sign of tensions within Biden's administration over a record number of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. "I am submitting my resignation effective immediately but wish you and your administration the very best going forward. Magnus, 62, was confirmed in December as commissioner of the CBP, a 60,000-strong agency that oversees border security, trade and travel. When Biden nominated Magnus for the role in 2021, the White House touted him as a reformer focused on establishing community trust in law enforcement and holding officers accountable.

☆ 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.

☆ Meet 5 of Goldman Sachs' newest partners, including a top fintech dealmaker and a structured trader from Honduras whose 3 brothers also work on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Dakin Campbell | Alex Morrell | Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It also includes a star fintech banker and leading voice on the Black experience on Wall Street. Here are 5 top names who will help shape the Wall Street of tomorrow. In the 12 years that he's been at Goldman, Watkins has helped Goldman advise on some of the technology industry's biggest transactions. He has also been a leading voice in discussing the Black experience on Wall Street. After graduating in 2010, he went to work for the Global Electronic Trading Co., known on Wall Street as GETCO.

☆ Costa Rica counting on veterans and World Cup experience in Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Playing in their sixth World Cup, Costa Rica are no longer minnows and Luis Fernando Suarez's squad will be expected to do more than just make up the numbers in the 32-team tournament. The same players also featured at the World Cup in 2018 and, although Costa Rica were eliminated in the group stage, Suarez has a core of senior men with tournament experience to count on. "I had to persuade them to stay on and play another World Cup and I'm glad I did," Suarez said. He coached Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup before leading Honduras at the 2014 edition. But Costa Rica hold a special place in his heart, which led to the Colombian renewing his contract despite interest from other teams.

☆ Hurricane Lisa makes landfall in Belize in Central America
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Lisa made landfall Wednesday near Belize City, in the Central American nation of Belize. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Lisa had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph at landfall. The storm’s center was about 10 miles southwest of Belize City and moving west at 12 mph. The hurricane center warned of the danger of flooding and mudslides from heavy rains. Far out in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Martin rose to hurricane strength Wednesday, but forecasters said it posed no immediate threat to land.

☆ 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.

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