International
Ibero-American Business Meeting to begin this Thursday
March 23 |
The XIV Ibero-American Business Meeting, which is organized in the framework of the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, will begin this Thursday afternoon at the Sansouci Convention Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
According to its organizers, the event will have the slogan “Together for a fair and sustainable Iberoamerica” and will be held until Friday. On this day, several heads of State and Government are expected to participate, who will discuss the topics on the agenda, in addition to awarding the Ibero-American Quality Award and handing over the Presidency of the Council to Ecuador.
The topics to be discussed will be investment, sustainability, climate action, social commitment and new financing models, and connectivity and digital transformation. Tourism, infrastructure, energy and ecological transition and gender equality will also be discussed.
At this meeting, the report “Latin America Economic Outlook 2022” will be presented and five panels will be held, led by ministers from the Dominican Republic and other personalities from the region.
The activities will be led by the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña, and the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andres Allamand. The event will be attended by more than one thousand businessmen from the region.
Meanwhile, the Ibero-American Summit will be inaugurated this Friday and is expected to be attended by 14 presidents, two vice presidents, two prime ministers and 22 foreign ministers, who will adopt important instruments aimed at guaranteeing the development of the region.
International
Guatemala considers sending high-risk gang members to military prisons
Amid the escalating crisis in Guatemala’s prison system, the government is considering transferring high-risk gang members to military-run detention facilities, a move that analysts say could help address overcrowding and the lack of control in civilian prisons.
The debate has gained urgency following the killing of ten police officers by gang members, reportedly in retaliation after the government refused to meet demands made by Aldo Dupie Ochoa, alias “El Lobo,” leader of the Barrio 18 gang, which authorities identified as responsible for the attack.
Guatemala’s Minister of Defense, Henry David Sáenz, told local media that the possibility of relocating high-danger inmates to military brigades has not been formally discussed. However, he noted that the practice is not new to the Armed Forces and said it is something that “was already being done.”
One example is the detention center located within the Mariscal Zavala Military Brigade, in Zone 17 of Guatemala City, where several inmates are held under military supervision. The facility also houses high-profile detainees, including former official Eduardo Masaya, who faces corruption charges.
In 2015, a ministerial agreement authorized the establishment of the Zone Seventeen Detention Center within the brigade, with a maximum capacity of 114 inmates in Area A and 21 in Area B. The agreement specified that the facility would be used exclusively for civilians or military personnel considered at risk of assassination.
Additionally, since 2010, a prison has operated within the Matamoros Barracks in Zone 1 of Guatemala City, holding dangerous or high-profile inmates. However, media outlets have described these military detention centers as “VIP prisons,” particularly for former government officials such as ex-president Otto Pérez Molina.
International
Rights group says over 5,000 killed in Iran protests, mostly civilians
A U.S.-based human rights group said on Friday it has confirmed that more than 5,000 people were killed during the recent protests in Iran, most of them civilians allegedly shot by security forces.
Non-governmental organizations monitoring the toll from the crackdown on what have been described as the largest demonstrations in Iran in years said their work has been hampered by an internet shutdown imposed by authorities since January 8. They warned that the actual death toll is likely significantly higher.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States, reported on Friday that it had verified the deaths of 5,002 people, including 4,714 protesters, 42 minors, 207 members of the security forces, and 39 bystanders.
The group added, however, that it is still investigating an additional 9,787 possible deaths, underscoring the difficulty of independently confirming information amid ongoing restrictions and repression.
International
Japan reopens Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant despite public concerns
La centrale nucléaire japonaise de Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, la plus grande au monde, a repris ses activités mercredi pour la première fois depuis la catastrophe de Fukushima en 2011, malgré les inquiétudes persistantes d’une partie de la population.
La remise en service a eu lieu à 19h02 heure locale (10h02 GMT), a indiqué à l’AFP Tatsuya Matoba, porte-parole de la compagnie Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco).
Le gouverneur de la préfecture de Niigata, où se situe la centrale, avait donné son feu vert à la reprise le mois dernier, en dépit d’une opinion publique divisée. Selon une enquête menée en septembre par la préfecture elle-même, 60 % des habitants se déclaraient opposés au redémarrage, contre 37 % favorables.
Mardi, plusieurs dizaines de manifestants ont bravé le froid et la neige pour protester près de l’entrée du site, sur les rives de la mer du Japon.
« L’électricité de Tokyo est produite à Kashiwazaki. Pourquoi seuls les habitants d’ici devraient-ils être exposés au danger ? Cela n’a aucun sens », a déclaré à l’AFP Yumiko Abe, une riveraine de 73 ans.
La centrale de Kashiwazaki-Kariwa avait été mise à l’arrêt lorsque le Japon a fermé l’ensemble de ses réacteurs nucléaires à la suite du triple désastre de mars 2011 — un séisme, un tsunami et un accident nucléaire — survenu à Fukushima.
Guatemala’s president rules out negotiations with inmates after prison riots
Guatemala considers sending high-risk gang members to military prisons
Rights group says over 5,000 killed in Iran protests, mostly civilians
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