DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Bolivia takes control of Banco Fassil, executives arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, April 26 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government took control of one of the country's largest banks, Banco Fassil, a senior government financial official said on Wednesday, and police arrested several executives for alleged mismanagement. "Mismanagement, unhealthy practices have caused a crisis," the executive director of Bolivia's Financial System Supervision Authority (ASFI), Reynaldo Yujra, told reporters in the city of Santa Cruz. Dozens of police were stationed at Banco Fassil's 185 branches across Bolivia on Wednesday, authorities said. Banco Fassil President Ricardo Mertens, General Manager Jorge Arturo Chávez and another executive, Hernan Suarez, were arrested late Tuesday, while a fourth, Hermes Saucedo, turned himself in early Wednesday morning, according to the Santa Cruz attorney general's office. "The financial system in general is in good health.

The move would see Chile, the world's second largest lithium producer, shift to a model with the state holding a controlling interest in all new lithium projects through a public company that would partner with private mining firms. Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year, and Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore, a key battery material, in 2020. In early trading on Friday, Chilean firm SQM's U.S.-listed shares slid 6.2%, while Albemarle was down 2.5%. SQM's lithium contract in Chile is set to expire in 2030 and Albemarle's in 2043, giving it more insulation from the potential move. Mining shares in London fell sharply too.

☆ Spanish extreme athlete emerges into daylight after 500 days living in cave
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Beatriz Flamini, an elite sportswoman, mountaineer and climber, is said by her support team to have broken a world record for longest time spent in a cave. She was 48 when she went into the cave, and celebrated two birthdays alone underground. WOOLLY HATSFlamini spent her time underground doing exercises to keep her fit and busy, painting and drawing and knitting woolly hats. She took two GoPro cameras to document her time, and got through 60 books and 1,000 litres of water, according to her support team. A spokesman for Guinness was not able to immediately confirm whether there was a separate record for voluntary time living in a cave and whether Flamini had broken it.

[1/5] One of the dishes created by Bolivian chef Marsia Taha and Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez with ingredients from the Amazon, gets served at Gustu restaurant, in La Paz, Bolivia, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia MoralesApril 3 (Reuters) - In the high altitudes of Bolivia's La Paz, some of South America's top chefs are paying homage to regional Amazonian culinary ingredients including gusanillo, or worm chili, tree bark that tastes like garlic, and honey from stingless bees. At Taha's restaurant Gustu in La Paz, a feast of colors and flavors was carefully spread out on wooden tables decorated with large leaves to celebrate the gastronomic diversity of the Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon. "This is not only a celebration of the Amazon and its biodiversity but of our producers as well. They are the ones who make it possible for these products to arrive to our homes or our restaurants," said Taha.

Soldering demand from the electronics sector remains weak and investors in London and Shanghai continue to play the market from the short side. Surging purchases of electronic goods during lockdown were followed by sharply reduced spending as many Western consumers were hit by a cost-of-living squeeze. LME positioning reports show both investment funds and other financial players are currently net short of the London tin contract after the early-year rally went into reverse. LME tin price, stocks and cash-3s spreadSHANGHAI STOCKS UP, LONDON STOCKS DOWNReasons to be negative are more obvious in China. ShFE registered tin stocks have risen by 60% to 8,745 tonnes since the start of January.

☆ 12 cities around the world where you can live cheaply, from $300-a-month rents to $1 cappuccinos
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider compiled a list of 12 cities around the world where the cost of living is relatively low. Insider has compiled a list of 12 cities where you can live relatively cheaply, using data from the comparison website Numbeo, which provides crowdsourced summaries of the cost of living in major cities across the world. Insider chose cities across countries and continents, trying to select ones that are relatively affordable, especially compared to the US. All prices have been converted to US dollars, and the cities' populations are sourced from United Nations data unless otherwise noted. Have you found an affordable paradise in another part of the world?

☆ Are you 'The Achiever' or 'The Enthusiast'? Why so many people—including your boss—are obsessed with the Enneagram test
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Aditi Shrikant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Even if you haven't taken the Enneagram test yourself, you may have been roped into a conversation about it. The Enneagram is 'focused on internal emotions rather than external behaviors'Unlike other personality tests, the Enneagram has an unlikely foothold in disparate communities. Howe, who lives in Pasadena, California, grew up taking the Myers-Briggs Test and other personality tests, but said the Enneagram is different. She first heard of the Enneagram test from a friend but didn't take it seriously until she read "The Road Back to You." Like astronomy or other typologies, every Enneagram test result is positive.

The stand-off could threaten the government's revived push to advance lithium projects and make batteries, including through a recent deal with a Chinese consortium led by the world's largest battery maker CATL. Local authorities pledged to try to ease the tensions. "We are going to redouble our efforts as authorities ... so that this mobilization is lifted," said Jhonny Mamani, Potosi governor. Officials blamed the protests on misinformation campaigns and urged Bolivians to allow projects to move ahead or risk losing the chance to develop lithium resources. Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Monica Machicao; Writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia, Bolivia to ask UN to remove coca leaf from narcotics list
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Claudia MoralesBOGOTA, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Colombia and Bolivia will jointly ask the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs to remove coca leaves from its list of prohibited substances and accept the plant's traditional uses, Colombia's government said on Wednesday. "Bolivia and Colombia consider it is the moment to once again put this issue on the table," she said. "To remove the coca leaf - the leaf, not cocaine - from the prohibited substances list." Coca leaves are widely used in different countries in Latin America, especially by indigenous groups, to treat stomach aches and altitude sickness, among other ceremonial uses. Bolivian President Luis Arce said in January his government would push for coca leaves to be removed from the list so they can be commercialized, after his predecessor Evo Morales decriminalized coca nationally.

☆ Scholz seeks to secure more critical minerals on South America tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Sarah Marsh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sebastian Rodriguez/Chilean Presidency/Handout via REUTERSSANTIAGO DE CHILE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a new, expanded commodities partnership with Chile on Sunday during a tour of South America that Berlin hopes will help secure more access to critical minerals key to the transition to a green economy. That has led to a reliance on China, which has invested widely in the mining sector in resource-rich South America and in processing commodities. Argentina and Chile sit atop South America's "lithium triangle" which holds the world's largest trove of the ultra-light battery metal. "We want to help Chile on the way to a sustainable mining sector," Scholz said in a news conference with his Chilean counterpart in Santiago de Chile on the second leg of his tour. Germany also wanted to ensure mining generated more jobs in the source countries, Scholz said.

☆ Bolivia taps Chinese battery giant CATL to help develop lithium riches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Daniel Ramos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Bolivia has chosen a consortium including Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) to help develop the South American country's huge, but largely untapped, reserves of lithium after a lengthy bidding process involving firms from the United States and Russia. The deal announced at an event in the political capital La Paz would see the CBC consortium partner on direct lithium extraction from the country's Potosi and Oruro salt flats. The companies who have remained in the race include U.S. firm Lilac Solutions, Russia's Uranium One Group and three other Chinese bidders. "Today begins the era of industrialization of Bolivian lithium," Arce said, adding that there was "no time to lose" in developing the metal. Energy minister Franklin Molina said the move showed there were "sovereign alternatives to the privatization models of lithium exploitation."

☆ Bolivia judge rules opposition governor must remain detained ahead of trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Manuel ClaureLA PAZ, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A Bolivian judge ruled Thursday that Santa Cruz Governor Luis Camacho, a leader long in opposition to the left-leaning federal government, must remain detained while he awaits trial. Since then, weeks of protests and blockades in Camacho's Santa Cruz region, an agricultural hub, have impacted trade with the rest of the country, putting pressure on political capital La Paz. Camacho's lawyer had appealed his four-month detention ahead of his expected trial, arguing that he was not a flight risk and should be placed under house arrest. But judge Rosmery Lourdes Pabon on Thursday ruled that he should remain imprisoned. Morales' successor, the conservative former Senate Vice President Jeanine Anez, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June for orchestrating a coup.

☆ Peru bans entry to former Bolivian president Morales, eight others
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIMA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Peru has banned nine Bolivian citizens, including former President Evo Morales, from entering the country, Peru's interior ministry said in a statement on Monday. The move comes after weeks of deadly protests in Peru against President Dina Boluarte following the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo, with some demonstrations held near the border with Bolivia. Morales has publicly backed Castillo and said on Twitter last month that his ouster and subsequent arrest was illegal and unconstitutional. "We are closely watching not only the attitude of Mr. Morales, but also of those who work with him in southern Peru ... Peru's protests began in early December after Castillo was removed from office and detained following his attempt to dissolve Congress.

☆ Global leaders condemn assault on Brazilian government buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Brazil's democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined. Using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable. BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT LUIS ARCE"We strongly condemn the assault on the Brazilian Congress, Palace and Supreme Court by anti-democratic groups. A return to normality is urgently needed and we express solidarity with Brazilian institutions. We categorically condemn the assault on the Brazilian Congress and make a call for the immediate return to democratic normality."

☆ U.S. court sentences ex-Bolivian interior minister to 6 years in bribery scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - A federal U.S. court sentenced former Bolivian Interior Minister Arturo Murillo to nearly six years behind bars on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Murillo was sentenced to 70 months in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Another former Bolivian official and three Americans were sentenced in the United States last June after they also pleaded guilty to roles in the same scheme, the department said. Bolivia's government has requested Murillo's extradition to Bolivia, where he faces a host of criminal charges. "Justice has spoken in the United States.

☆ Bolivia's Arce hopes to mend ties with Brazil as Lula takes office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Bolivia's President Luis Arce said on Monday he hopes Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will help improve diplomatic relations and explain issues that generated controversy during former President Jair Bolsonaro's mandate. Arce pointed to the supposed support of far-right politician Bolsonaro for the resignation of former leftist president Evo Morales in 2019. Like Lula, Morales had formed part of a wave of leftists who dominated Latin American politics at the start of the century. Regarding natural gas contracts, Arce's government said in May Bolivia was seeking higher prices for natural gas sold to Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA), claiming current contracts with the state-run oil company generated steep losses. Lula took office promising to "mend" diplomatic relations.

☆ Hundreds of trucks snarl Bolivia farm region as blockades hit business
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Agustin Marcarian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Agustin MarcarianPAILON, Bolivia, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Hundreds of trucks lined highways in Bolivia's farming region of Santa Cruz on Tuesday, as protesters blockaded routes out of the region following the arrest of the local governor, and hard-hit local businesses urged a return to order. Protests have gripped the lowland region since the Dec. 28 arrest of right-wing local leader Luis Camacho on "terrorism" charges related to an alleged 2019 coup against then president Evo Morales. Another source at a local business group said it would be hard for the region to maintain long protests and road blockades, with many still reeling from a lengthy strike last October and November. In Santa Cruz city, protesters have clashed nightly on the streets, burning cars and tires and offloading fireworks. "We are a peaceful people, we want peace, we want to work under normal conditions," said Gabriela Arias, protesting for Camacho's release in a women's march in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz leaders pledge to fight until Camacho is released, picketing government buildings and stopping transport of grains. "We have a mandate from our assembly that nothing leaves Santa Cruz and that is what we are going to do," said Rómulo Calvo, head of the powerful Pro Santa Cruz civic group. Marcelo Cruz, President of the International Heavy Transport Association of Santa Cruz, said routes were being blocked so no trucks could leave the province. "No grain, animal or supply from the factories should leave Santa Cruz for the rest of the country. "Santa Cruz is the economic stronghold of Bolivia," said Gary Rodríguez, General Manager of the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE).

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Lasers revealed 5 ancient civilizations that were hiding in plain sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Archeologists beam lasers from the sky to unearth ancient settlements hiding in plain sight. State-of-the-art laser technology is transforming archaeology by creating 3D renderings of ruins. A hidden 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization in northern GuatemalaResearchers found a 2,000-year-old Mayan civilization in northern Guatemala using LiDAR. 61,000 previously unknown structures hidden under the dense Guatemalan jungleLiDAR laser technology found ancient cities with more than 60,000 structures in Guatemala. An overgrown ancient civilization buried in the Bolivian AmazonA LiDAR image of an ancient Amazonian urban network in what is now Bolivia.

☆ Accusations against detained Bolivian governor Camacho are "made up", says ex president Mesa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/3] Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho receives a medical evaluation following his detention, at an undisclosed location in this image released December 28, 2022. TWITTER/Carlos Eduardo del Castillo del Carpio/Handout via REUTERSLA PAZ, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia's former President Carlos Mesa told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that the accusations against Luis Fernando Camacho, the governor of agricultural hub Santa Cruz who was detained on Wednesday, are made up, spurious and non-existent. Reporting by Monica Machicao; Editing by Anthony EspositoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bolivia to protect big-state economic model, plans‘aggressive’ gas push: minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LA PAZ, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia is committed to protecting its subsidy-reliant, big-state economic model despite deficit risks and is planning an "aggressive" push into gas exploration, the economy minister told Reuters. Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said the government has designed "a very aggressive exploration plan" for gas in 2023, but did not go into details. The government is projecting to shrink the 2023 deficit to about 7.5%. "It is not easy, because there are contracts that will last for years, even decades ... We have to push so that more profits remain for Bolivia," Montenegro said. Reporting by Monica Machicao in La Paz Written by Daniel Ramos Edited by Nicolás Misculin, Alexander Villegas and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/7] Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho receives a medical evaluation following his detention, at an undisclosed location in this image released December 28, 2022. Former President Morales said on Wednesday he hoped Camacho's detention would bring justice after three years. There was an uneasy calm Thursday in Santa Cruz, where signs of damage were visible after protests Wednesday ended with a fire set to the Santa Cruz prosecutor's headquarters. Public Works Minister Edgar Montano said on Twitter his house in Santa Cruz had been set on fire and robbed. The federal prosecutor's office said it would seek the "harshest punishment" for those responsible for damages in Santa Cruz.

☆ Explainer: Who is Luis Fernando Camacho, the opposition leader arrested in Bolivia?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Prominent Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho was arrested on Wednesday, exacerbating tensions between the government in La Paz and opposition centered around the affluent farming hub of Santa Cruz. The government has said Camacho has the support of elites and economic groups seeking to take control of Santa Cruz. Minister of Public Works Edgar Montano accused Camacho of planning more protests and human rights violations that would hurt the people of Santa Cruz. Why is Santa Cruz the center of opposition? Santa Cruz, one of Bolivia's most affluent and populous regions, has long butted heads with its political capital of La Paz.

LA PAZ/SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Bolivian police on Wednesday detained Luis Fernando Camacho, the governor of Santa Cruz and a prominent opposition leader, the latest sign of political tensions in a region that saw the arrest of a president in neighboring Peru earlier this month. Authorities have not said why Camacho was arrested but he recently helped lead weeks of protests that blocked streets and halted trade in Santa Cruz. Camacho was taken to a local airport to be flown to La Paz, local media reported. "The operation to kidnap the governor was carried out in the streets near his home, as he was returning from his duties," the Santa Cruz government said in a statement. Opposition Senator Erik Moron said in a video that he had been taken by helicopter to an unknown location.

Search resuls for: "bolivian"

25 mentions found