Latin American

Ecuador's VP handed 6 years in prison in Odebrecht graft case

Quito - Muslimchronicle

Ecuador's vice president, Jorge Glas, was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday for receiving illegal kickbacks from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. He is the highest-ranking politician to be convicted in the sprawling case centered on Odebrecht, whose practice of giving bribes to secure public works contracts has cast a cloud over officials and ex-officials in several Latin American countries.Read more

Venezuela rivals begin new crisis negotiations bid

Santo Domingo - Muslimchronicle

President Nicolas Maduro's leftist government and the main opposition coalition resumed talks in the Dominican Republic Friday, aimed at resolving Venezuela's crushing economic and political crisis. Both sides held preliminary meetings on Friday with foreign ministers from Latin American nations acting as guarantors in the talks. Dominican President Danilo Medina -- who is hosting the talks with fellow mediator andRead more

Gas exporters call for 'fair price'

Santa Cruz - Muslimchronicle

Gas exporting countries, grappling with collapsed global markets, on Friday called for a "fair price" for the commodity after a summit in Bolivia. The Gas Exporting Countries Forum seeks a "fair price for natural gas," taking into account its environmental benefits and energy efficiency, a declaration said. The price of natural gas is linked to that of petroleum and itsRead more

Trump to meet with Latin American leaders on Venezuela

Washington - Muslimchronicle

U.S. President Donald Trump has invited three Latin American leaders to dine with him next week in New York as he seeks to address the Venezuela crisis and build bridges with the region after an acrimonious start with neighbor Mexico. The political and economic turmoil in Venezuela, source of 10 percent of the oil consumed by the United States, willRead more

Mexico's prickly pear cactus: energy source of the future?

Mexico City - Muslimchronicle

The prickly pear cactus is such a powerful symbol in Mexico that they put it smack in the middle of the national flag. It was considered sacred by the ancient Aztecs, and modern-day Mexicans eat it, drink it, and even use it in medicines and shampoos. Now scientists have come up with a new use for the bright green plant:Read more

Marwa underlines importance of coastal tourism

Cairo - Mohamed Ammar

Egyptian tour guide Marwa Refaat said that coastal tourism in the world has increased significantly in 2017 as a group of countries have started to develop this type of tourism, including Bahrain and Dubai, with a range of recreational activities for visitors, especially tourist lanes. She added that she pointed out that the Latin American countries are now holding aRead more

Tour guide praises women’s beaches

Cairo - Mohamed Ammar

Egyptian tour guide Samira Mohsen said that women's beaches are one of the most important factors to attract families, and to support tourism in Egypt pointing out that many western countries allocated some beaches for families only, which characterized by privacy. Examples of countries that allocated such beaches are France, Germany and Latin American countries such as Mexico. Therefore, weRead more

Bolivian official calls for LatAm integration against US protectionism

La Baz - ArabToday

A Bolivian official on Tuesday called for Latin American integration to counteract the effects of the protectionist policies adopted by U.S. President Donald Trump. "Before the closing of borders, the protectionism happening in the United States, Latin American integration agreements are a fundamental tool to fight these blows to the Latin American market," Bolivian Economy Minister Luis Arce told aRead more