EU urged to halt trade talks with S. America over Brazil abuses

Yahoo – AFP, June 18, 2019

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and harm done to Brazil's indiginous people
are issues that should push the EU to halt trade talks, according to some 340
groups in Europe and Latin America (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

Brussels (AFP) - Hundreds of activist groups on Tuesday urged the EU to "immediately halt negotiations" for a trade deal with Mercosur countries over Brazil's alleged harm of its indigenous people and rainforests.

The appeal from more than 340 groups could further complicate the European Union's bid to conclude 20 years of talks for a free trade agreement with Brazil and its Mercosur partners Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

In an open letter, Greenpeace as well as an array of NGOs across Europe and Latin America reminded the EU it had previously suspended trade preferences with Myanmar and the Philippines over alleged human rights abuses.

"It is time that the EU takes a similar, tough stance to prevent a deterioration of the human rights and environmental situation in Brazil," the letter said.

"We therefore call on you to immediately halt negotiations for an EU-Mercosur free trade agreement," it added.

It urged Brussels to "guarantee that no Brazilian products sold in the EU, nor the financial markets underpinning them, are leading to increases in deforestation, land grabbing of native lands or human rights violations."

The letter also urged an end to trade talks until Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro gives concrete commitments to implement the 2015 Paris climate deal.

European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told journalists on Monday that EU officials were in close contact with the growing number of NGOs expressing concern.

EU officials have "listened to them and tried to see what we can do," the Swedish commissioner said.

"There are some measures taken in Brazil that we certainly do not agree with and a trade agreement cannot solve all the miseries of the world," Malmstrom said.

"But we can get a context to discuss these issues. We are certainly trying to get a chapter on trade and sustainable development that is as ambitious as possible but it is not done yet."

Brazil's Bolsonaro and Argentina's Mauricio Macri expressed confidence earlier this month that the deal would soon be signed.

Malmstrom said the two blocs were near an agreement, and expressed hope it could be reached before the current European Commission stands down in November.

The main obstacle has been European reluctance to open its market to agricultural products from South America, and more recently differences have emerged with Brazil over trading meat, sugar and automobiles.

US abstains for first time in UN vote against Cuba embargo

Yahoo – AFP, Carole Landry, October 26, 2016

Cuban students listen to Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez delivering his
 speech at the United Nations in New York calling for an end to the US embargo
against Cuba on October 26, 2016 at the University of Havana, in the Cuban
capital (AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday abstained for the first time in 25 years from a vote at the United Nations calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba.

The UN General Assembly adopted the annual resolution by an overwhelming vote of 191 votes in favor -- with only the United States and Israel abstaining in the 193-nation forum.

Washington's abstention was in line with calls from President Barack Obama for the opposition-controlled Congress to lift the decades-old embargo as part of a historic normalization of relations.

"The United States has always voted against this resolution. Today the United States will abstain," US Ambassador Samantha Power told the assembly, drawing loud applause.

"After 55-plus years of pursuing the path of isolation, we are choosing to take the path of engagement."

The United States restored diplomatic ties with Cuba in July 2015 and a month later re-opened its embassy in Havana. Obama made a landmark visit to the communist-ruled island in March.

But restoring full trade and financial ties with Cuba would require legislative action by Congress, where the Republican majority has said human rights concerns must first be addressed.

Power recalled that the US policy aimed at isolating Cuba "was not working" 

and had instead isolated the United States (AFP Photo/Don Emmert)

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez welcomed the US shift as positive, but said that Washington must take concrete steps that go beyond the "vote of one delegation in this forum."

"The blockade continues to be a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of all Cuban men and women and qualifies as an act of genocide," Rodriguez said.

Economic damage suffered by Cuba from the US embargo between April 2015 and March 2016 -- coinciding with the time of Obama's first meeting with President Raul Castro to his historic Havana visit -- is estimated at more than $4.68 billion, Rodriguez said.

Over the past six decades, the damage from "this genocidal policy" amounts to $753.688 billion, he added.

Cuba still suffering

Embargo restrictions have prevented the sale of US medical equipment to treat Cubans suffering from Parkinson's disease and blocked a deal by a Cuban pharmaceutical company that would have allowed it to produce drugs locally, said the foreign minister.

"There isn't any Cuban family or sector in our country that has not suffered from its effects," he said.

This year's resolution takes note of steps taken by the Democratic Obama administration to ease the embargo, describing them as positive but "still limited in scope."

Students of the University of Havana in the Cuban capital on October 26, 2016 

celebrate after the the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an 

end to the US embargo against Cuba (AFP Photo/Adalberto Rpque)

The measure calls on all UN member states to refrain from applying the embargo and to "reaffirm the freedom of trade and navigation."

Last year, the United States and Israel were the only two countries that voted against the non-binding resolution, but 191 voted in favor -- the highest level of support yet for the measure at the United Nations.

Power recalled that the US policy aimed at isolating Cuba "was not working" and had instead isolated the United States.

"Abstaining on this resolution does not mean that the United States agrees with all of the policies and practices of the Cuban government. We do not," said Power.

After praising Cuba for sending hundreds of doctors to West Africa to fight the Ebola virus outbreak, Power said the United States and Cuba must continue to find ways to engage, despite differences.

"Today, we have taken another small step to be able to do that. May there be many more -- including, we hope, finally ending the US embargo," she said.

The assembly has voted each year since 1992 to approve the resolution criticizing the embargo that was imposed in 1960, at the height of the Cold War.

The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro rose to power and aligned himself with the then-Soviet Union.

Cuba's Raul Castro in France for historic visit

Yahoo – AFP, Maria Carmona, February 1, 2016

Cuba's President Raul Castro (right) attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on February 1, 2016
(AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)

Paris (AFP) - Cuba's President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Monday, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation's ties with the West.

The Cuban leader was welcomed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris before being driven down a virtually deserted Champs-Elysees avenue, decked out in Cuban flags.

Cuban President Raul Castro (left)

 pictured with French President Francois

 Hollande in Havana on May 12, 2015

(AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Police severely restricted access to spectators, and just a few groups of supporters of the Cuban regime were present.

Castro, 84, is on his first official trip to the European Union since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006, and spent the weekend in the French capital on a private visit.

France has led the way in welcoming Cuba back into the diplomatic fold since it restored relations last year with the United States after they were broken off for more than half a century.

French President Francois Hollande, who was to hold talks with Castro later Monday, has described the visit as "a new stage in the strengthening of relations between the two countries".

It builds on Hollande's own state visit to Cuba last May, the first by a head of state from the West in more than half a century.

Castro is the second former pariah to be welcomed to Paris in a matter of days, after Hollande hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week.

"This visit is important for Cuba's image," said Eduardo Perera, an international relations expert at Havana University.

Cuba's President Raul Castro is on his first official trip to the European Union

since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006 (AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)

"It will undeniably make Cuba shine on the international stage."

Havana hopes the visit will allow Cuba to "widen and diversify its relations with France in all possible areas -- politics, economics, trade, finance, investment, culture and cooperation," said Rogelio Sierra, Cuban deputy foreign minister.

Although Washington has yet to lift its trade embargo on Cuba, US and European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as the island's economy gradually opens up.

Hollande urged an end to the blockade, which was imposed in 1962, on his Havana visit.

Trade delegations have been flocking to Cuba, hoping to cash in on its highly trained workforce and natural assets such as its sun-drenched Caribbean beaches, a draw for tourists.

Cuba, meanwhile, needs to tap new sources of income as its main ally and financial backer, Venezuela, is mired in economic and political crisis.

Trade between the two countries currently adds up to a modest $195 million (180 million euros), which is "not in line with our ambitions," France's minister of state for foreign trade Matthias Fekl told L'Humanite newspaper.

US and European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as 

Cuba's economy gradually opens up (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Debt write-off

The French trip is the first by a Cuban head of state since Fidel Castro visited then president Francois Mitterrand in 1995.

Castro will also attend a state dinner before meeting various French officials on Tuesday.

France recently engineered an agreement among the Paris Club of international creditors to write off $8.5 billion of Cuba's debt.

It could now agree to further debt relief, potentially widening Cuba's access to international financial markets.

France is also taking a leading role in strengthening Cuba's political ties with Europe as a whole.

Human rights remains a sensitive issue, with international authorities accusing the Castros of repressing and harassing their political opponents.

A diplomatic source in Paris said human rights "will be discussed" during the talks. Hollande faced criticism from rights groups after meeting with Fidel Castro last year.

There were also demonstrations against Rouhani's visit last week, although Hollande hailed a "new relationship" after sealing a slew of lucrative trade deals drawn up after nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted.

French President Francois Hollande (L) shakes hands with Cuban President 

Raul Castro upon his arrival on February 1, 2016 at the Elysee Presidential 

Palace in Paris (AFP Photo/Stephane de Sakutin)

Related Article:

France calls for end to US sanctions on Cuba during Castro visit

France's Hollande calls for end to US embargo on Cuba trip

Yahoo – AFP, Sabine Wibaux, 11 May 2015

French President Francois Hollande speaks upon his arrival at Jose Marti

Airport in Havana, on May 10, 2015 (AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

Havana (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande called Monday for an end to the US embargo on Cuba during a historic visit to the island, the first by a Western leader since Washington and Havana moved to restore ties.

Speaking on the half-century embargo at the start of his Cuba trip, the first ever by a French leader, Hollande said France will do whatever possible to see that "the measures that have so badly harmed Cuba's development can finally be lifted, repealed."

Hollande said his trip came "at a particularly important but also uncertain time," as both the United States and the European Union seek to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega (L) greets 

French President Francois Hollande (R)

 after receiving the Commander of the

 Legion of Honor Order, at the French 

embassy in Havana, on May 11, 2015

(AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

France will do what it can to "see that opening reaffirmed," he said in a speech at the University of Havana.

Since announcing in December that the United States and Cuba would move to renew ties after more than half a century, US President Barack Obama has used his executive authority to relax several aspects of the embargo, including restrictions on travel and sending money to the island.

He has called on Congress to lift the full embargo, in place since 1962, but with both houses under Republican control, he faces an uphill political battle.

Cuba says the embargo, which it refers to as "the blockade," has cost it more than $100 billion.

Call for 'opening'

Hollande, who was later due to meet Cuban President Raul Castro, also urged Cuba to open up its economy, saying there was vast interest in doing business with the island.

France is seeking to "be the first among European nations, and the first among Western nations, to be able to say to the Cubans that we will be at their side if they decide themselves to take needed steps toward opening up," he told reporters before arriving in Havana late Sunday.

Castro has presided over gradual economic and social reforms since taking over in 2006 from his older brother Fidel, the leader of the 1959 revolution that ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista and eventually made Cuba a one-party communist state.

Hollande's office has said he is available to meet with Fidel Castro as well, but Havana has not confirmed face-to-face talks.

The French leader hit again on the theme of "openness" as he bestowed France's highest honor on the head of the Catholic Church in Cuba, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, a key figure in the island's growing rapprochement with the West.

"You continue to stand for the opening of Cuba," he said, praising Ortega's role in mediating with Cuba's one-party communist government, including during the US rapprochement talks and negotiations for the release of some 130 political prisoners in 2010.

Hollande said on arrival in Havana that it filled him with "great emotion" to be the first French leader to visit Cuba since it gained independence in 1898.

Several agreements will be signed during the trip, though the details of the deals were not made public. Hollande said the accords would focus on improved access to Latin American markets.

The visit follows a meeting Sunday between Raul Castro and Pope Francis at the Vatican, where the Cuban leader thanked the pontiff for his role in brokering the historic detente between Havana and Washington.

French President Francois Hollande (C) confers with Rogelio Sierra (L), Cuba's 

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, upon arrival at Jose Marti Airport on May 10,

2015 in Havana (AFP Photo/Adalberto Roque)

Row over rights

In addition to economic issues, the trip is also a chance to discuss human rights. Activists have criticized Cuba's right record, accusing Havana of cracking down on dissidents and free press.

The European Union suspended relations with Cuba in 2003 over a crackdown on journalists and activists, but it opened talks to restore ties in April 2014 -- well before December's announcement of the US-Cuban thaw -- aiming to persuade Havana to improve its rights record.

France, which has made its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean a foreign policy priority, has along with the Netherlands been a strong supporter of the normalization of ties between Cuba and the 28-member EU.

French officials recognize the importance of the EU positioning itself politically and economically for when the US embargo is eventually lifted.

Trade between France and Cuba is modest, worth around $388 million a year, with the balance solidly in France's favor.

Hollande has already made stops in Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, Martinique and Guadeloupe and will end his five-day Caribbean tour in Haiti on Tuesday.

NY governor heads U.S. trade mission to Cuba

English.news.cn   2015-04-21

HAVANA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A trade mission led by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo kicked off on Monday a two-day visit to Cuba, Cuban daily Granma reported.

The mission aims to ensure the state is "present (from the) beginning of the adventure," said Cuomo, referring to the process launched by Cuba and the U.S. to normalize ties after more than five decades of animosity.

"We are assisting the beginning of the transition in the relationship between the two countries, which is going to have significant economic benefits for both sides," Cuomo told reporters as he arrived at Havana's Jose Marti international airport.

The governor was greeted by Josefina Vidal, general director for U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Cuomo, the first U.S. governor to officially visit the island since Cuba and the U.S. decided to restore diplomatic ties in December, heads a delegation of business leaders, including Robin Hayes, CEO of low-cost carrier JetBlue; Walt M. Macnee, vice chairman of credit card company MasterCard; and Freda Lewis-Hall, vice president of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

"As the door begins to open between U.S. and Cuba, we want New York businesses to be first out of the gate when it comes to building trade partnerships," Cuomo posted on Twitter a day prior to the trip.

In addition to industry leaders, the delegation included representatives of educational and research institutions based in New York, and local politicians, such as New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

The visit is part of Cuomo's Global NY initiative, to boost trade and investment for his state, the daily said.

"The representatives in the New York delegation will help ensure the companies of the Empire State are at the forefront when the doors open to a market that has been closed to U.S. companies for more than half a century," Cuomo said in a press release issued before the trip.

Argentinean president mocks Chinese accent on Twitter

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-02-07

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. (Photo/CNS)

Argentinean president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner made fun of Chinese people, who often struggle to differentiate the "r" and "l" sounds in Spanish, on Twitter on Wednesday during her four-day visit to China to sign multiple political, economic and military cooperative deals, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

Fernandez replaced the "r"s in "arroz," the Spanish word for rice, "La Campora," the Argentinean political youth organization that supports Fernandez de Kirchner's government and "petroleo," the Spanish word for petroleum, with "l" in her tweet. Her tweet read, "More than 1,000 participants at the event. Are they all from La Campora and in it only for the rice and the petroleum?"

She pinned the tweet to the top of her account, but later apologized after being blasted as a racist, stating that there are so many ridiculous things in the world that can only be resolved with humor. The Chinese government has not responded to her tweet.

Her Twitter account has been the most popular social networking account among Latin American national leaders as she often tweets pictures and witty remarks.

She led around 100 Argentinean business people on a visit to China from Feb. 3-6. The two countries inked deals to enhance cooperation on politics, economics, trade, finance, electricity plants and aerospace. Argentina also acquired Chinese military weapons, including five Chinese P18 corvettes.

US to ease restrictions on travel to Cuba as countries seek to normalise relations

Slew of changes – from reversing the ban on foreign ships entering US waters to allowing travelers to return with $100 worth of cigars – will take effect on Friday

theguardian.com, Dan Roberts in Washington, Thursday 15 January 2015

Miniature flags of Cuba and the United States are displayed on the dash of
an American classic car in Havana, Cuba. Photograph: Franklin Reyes/AP

Decades of punitive US sanctions on Cuba will be rolled back as early as Friday, in a move to swiftly normalise relations between the long-estranged countries.

From reversing the ban on foreign ships entering American waters, to allowing travellers to return with $100 worth of cigars, the new guidelines published by the US Treasury department go as far as possible to uphold Barack Obama’s pledge in December.

Though still constrained by legislation prohibiting fully liberalised tourism and free trade, several newly announced measures suggest a deliberate attempt to flood the communist economy with American technology and money in a bid to weaken its government’s grip on power and political dissent.

The steps include raising the limit on remittances from Cubans living abroad to up to $10,000, allowing internet and mobile phone companies to export equipment and relaxing almost all banking restrictions between the two countries.

Personal travel is still restricted to 12 designated categories, ranging from professional meetings through to educational activities, but removing the need to seek a licence for these suggests determined US tourists will find it much easier to make visits.

The new rules, which come into effect on Friday, follow Cuba’s recent decision to release political prisoners as part of the historic deal brokered with help from the Vatican in December.

The scope of the Treasury and Commerce department regulations, however, is likely to rekindle opposition among critics in Congress who say that encouraging trade and travel will only bolster the Cuban regime’s grip on power with little political reform promised in return.

The White House argues the reverse is true. “These changes will immediately enable the American people to provide more resources to empower the Cuban population to become less dependent upon the state-driven economy, and help facilitate our growing relationship with the Cuban people,” said Obama press secretary Josh Earnest.

“The policy of the past has not worked for over 50 years, and we believe that the best way to support our interests and our values is through openness rather than isolation.”

“Cuba has real potential for economic growth and by increasing travel, commerce, communications and private business development between the United States and Cuba, the United States can help the Cuban people determine their own future,” added Treasury secretary Jack Lew.

Related Article:

Cuba, EU agree new talks in March: European sources

Russia's Putin arrives in Cuba at start of Latin America tour

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Cuba on the first leg of a tour of Latin America. Cuba's state media reported he was welcomed by officials in Havana.

Deutsche Welle, 11 July 2014

President Putin touched down at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana early Friday.

Cuba's Prensa Latina news agency reported that the Russian leader was greeted on the tarmac by First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Russian diplomats and other officials.

Cuba is the Russian president's first stop of a tour of Latin America that will also see him visit Argentina and Brazil.

It's Putin's second visit to the communist nation in more than a decade. His itinerary includes official talks with Cuban President Raul Castro. The Kremlin also said Putin is scheduled to meet with the father of the Cuban Revolution, 87-year-old Fidel Castro.

Trade talks dominate visit

In recent years, Moscow has sought to revive ties with Cuba. Its economy has been weighed down by a US economic embargo since 1962.

The AFP news agency said ahead of the visit, Russia wrote off 90 percent of Cuba's Soviet-era debt totalling more than 30 billion dollars.

The Kremlin said bilateral talks would take place during Putin's visit to develop trade, economic and investment ties, along with joint projects in energy, transport, healthcare and civil aviation.

The talks are expected to conclude with the signing of several bilateral agreements.

Putin is scheduled to visit Argentina on Saturday and attend the World Cup final in Brazil on Sunday.

He is also expected to attend a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies next week.

The start of Putin's six-day tour of the region comes amid further conflict in eastern Ukraine.

lw/msh (AFP, dpa)

Related Article

Russia Cuts Cuba’s Debt to US $3.5 Billion

Defiant Ecuador drops US trade deal over Snowden case

Google – AFP, Alexander Martinez (AFP), 27 June 2013

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa (R) talks to Communications Minister

Fernando Alvarado in Quito, June 22, 2012 (AFP/File, Rodrigo Buendia)

QUITO — A defiant Ecuador dropped out of a trade pact with the United States on Thursday, claiming it had become an instrument of "blackmail" as Quito considers asylum for fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

The leftist government also offered the United States $23 million in "economic aid" for "human rights training" to prevent attacks on people's privacy, torture and extrajudicial executions.

"Ecuador unilaterally and irrevocably renounces these preferential customs tariff rights," Communications Minister Fernando Alvarado said, reading a government statement.

"Ecuador does not accept pressure or threats from anyone, and does not trade on principles or make them contingent on commercial interests, even if those interests are important," he said.

The government of leftist President Rafael Correa said that while it had received the preferential rights in exchange for its cooperation in the war on drugs, they had become a "new instrument of blackmail."

The preferential trade program, which covers key Ecuadoran exports such as fresh-cut roses, fruits , vegetables and tuna, was set to expire on July 31 unless the US Congress renewed it.

The arrangement, which dates back to the early 1990s, originally benefited four Andean nations, and Ecuador was the last country still participating in it. But analysts have warned that Washington may refuse to renew it if Quito grants asylum to Snowden.

The United States is Ecuador's main trade partner, buying 40 percent of the Andean nation's exports, or the equivalent of $9 billion per year.

The 30-year-old Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who embarrassed the government of US President Barack Obama by revealing details of vast Internet and phone surveillance programs, has requested asylum from Ecuador.

Ecuador has said it could take as little as one day or as long as two months to decide whether to grant asylum to Snowden, who remained Thursday in the transit area of a Moscow airport after fleeing Hong Kong.

Snowden's exit from Moscow appears complicated, as the United States has revoked his passport and a senior Ecuadoran foreign ministry official denied claims by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks that Quito had given him a travel document.

An online publication of the Ecuadoran presidency said Washington has put "explicit and implicit" pressure on Quito over Snowden's asylum petition as well as its decision to shelter WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its London embassy and its ties with "nations considered 'enemies' of the United States."

The official publication, El Ciudadano, added that the US embassy has urged Ecuador to hand over Snowden if he sets foot in the Andean nation.

Political Issues Minister Betty Tola meanwhile warned that prosecuting Snowden "could contravene" a regional human rights pact that the United States has not ratified.

Related Articles:

Biden and Correa discuss Snowden

Fugitive Snowden in Moscow, seeks Ecuador asylum

Nicaragua gives Chinese firm contract to build alternative to Panama Canal

Project will reinforce China's growing influence on global trade and weaken US dominance over a key shipping route

guardian.co.uk, Jonathan Watts and agencies, Thursday 6 June 2013

Nicaragua's new waterway will be a higher-capacity alternative to the 99-year-old
 Panama Canal (pictured), which is currently being widened at the cost of $5.2bn.
Photograph: Danny Lehman/Corbis

Nicaragua has awarded a Chinese company a 100-year concession to build an alternative to the Panama Canal, in a step that looks set to have profound geopolitical ramifications.

The president of the country's national assembly, Rene Nuñez, announced the $40bn (£26bn) project, which will reinforce Beijing's growing influence on global trade and weaken US dominance over the key shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The name of the company and other details have yet to be released, but the opposition congressman Luis Callejas said the government planned to grant a 100-year lease to the Chinese operator.

The national assembly will debate two bills on the project, including an outline for an environmental impact assessment, on Friday.

Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, said recently that the new channel would be built in the north of the country, through the waters of Lake Nicaragua.

The new route will be a higher-capacity alternative to the 99-year-old Panama Canal, which is currently being widened at the cost of $5.2bn.

Last year, the Nicaraguan government noted that the new canal should be able to allow passage for mega-container ships with a dead weight of up to 250,000 tonnes. This is more than double the size of the vessels that will be able to pass through the Panama Canal after its expansion, it said.

According to a bill submitted to congress last year, Nicaragua's canal will be 22 metres deep, 20 metres wide and 286 km (178 miles) long - bigger than Panama and Suez in all dimensions.

Under the initial plans for the project, the government was expected to be the majority shareholder, with construction taking 10 years and the first ship passing through the canal within six years. It is unclear if this is still the case.

Two former Colombian officials recently accused China of influencing the international court of justice to secure the territorial waters that Nicaragua needs for the project.

In an op-ed piece for the magazine Semana, Noemí Sanín, a former Colombian foreign secretary, and Miguel Ceballos, a former vice-minister of justice, said a Chinese judge had settled in Nicaragua's favour on a 13-year-old dispute over 75,000 square kilometres of sea.

They said this took place soon after Nicaraguan officials signed a memorandum of understanding last September with Wang Jing, the chairman of Xinwei Telecom and president of the newly established Hong Kong firm HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company, to build and operate the canal.

Nicaragua has accused Colombia and Costa Rica, which also has a claim on territory likely to be used by the new canal, of trying to prevent the project going ahead.

Additional reporting by Gareth Richards

The planned rail line would run alongside the Panamanian border

Related Articles:

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China and Colombia announce 'alternative Panama Canal'

China in talks to build Colombian rail link to rival Panama Canal


Shipping industry faces rough economic waters

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version) 

“… The Illuminati

One more. "Kryon, what about the Illuminati?" OK, I'll tell you, for these things are already known by many.

Everything you thought about the Illuminati of the past is correct. This was not conspiracy, but fact. However, in the light of what I just said above, it could not sustain itself in an energy where everyone talks to everyone, and has since gone dormant.

The Illuminati was based in Greece, and it started by controlling the most potent economic attribute that could manipulate the strings of commerce on the earth - shipping. Once they had control of shipping, what followed was financial markets. This, then, worked its way to insurance, world stock markets and banking. This was prevalent for decades, right up to the mid '80s.

I have a question for the elders in the room. Look back in your lifetime, dear ones. What was the stock market like when you were younger? If you remember, you will say it had incremental changes up and down, except for occasional major shifts - which, by the way, were also controlled. It was steady, up or down. It didn't vacillate wildly, with hundreds of point-shifts from month to month. It never did. That's what a controlled market looks like. Now take a look at your current stock market. Does it look controlled? It is not! It is free-wheeling and it can go wherever it is driven by normal financial activity.

This should tell you something, dear ones. The Illuminati is no longer in control. It lost in banking, in tobacco, and it's about to lose in big pharma and insurance because awareness lets people know what is controlled and what is not. Awareness of truth will trump any other energy, and integrity will win some major battles.

So, did the Illuminate die? No. They simply lost their method of control. ...”

Europe losing out to Chinese conquista

Deutsche Welle, 26 January 2013

China's growing economic presence in Latin America comes at Europe's expense. European leaders are trying to make up lost ground at this year's annual EU-Latin America Summit in Chile.

A battle for access to Latin America's markets is being waged between Europe and Asia. German companies, too, are increasingly exposed to Asian competition. That is why German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to seek closer ties with her Latin American counterparts at the summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the Chilean capital Santiago this weekend (26-27.01.2013).

"The most important Latin American countries have very dynamic trade with the countries of the Pacific Rim and China," said Günther Maihold, deputy director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, who currently teaches at the Humboldt Institute in Mexico City. "The Europeans need to consider how to position themselves," Maihold told DW. "More is expected of them than just free trade agreements."

China conquers Latin America

Ten years ago, Asia's presence in Latin America was insignificant.Chinese and South Korean cars on Latin America's roads were as unthinkable as Chinese trains and roads.

But today, Chinese manufacturers JAC Motors and CN Auto have set up shop along with Ssangyong from South Korea - and competition for European manufacturers such as VW, Audi or BMW is gearing up.

German investors like ThyssenKrupp have invested in Latin America

"Chinese companies sometimes come with very attractive financing options with which we can not compete," said Rafael Haddad, head of Brazil Board, an association of German companies investing in Brazil, concedes.

Chinese companies are increasingly trying to buy up Latin American companies, Haddad told DW.

"Germany can't catch up"

According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), China increased its direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean from $ 621 million in 2001 to nearly $ 44 billion in 2010 (including investment in the Caribbean offshore financial centers).

By comparison, German direct investment in the region grew over the same period from $41 billion to $50 billion.

Oliver Parche, coordinator of the German industry's Latin America Initiative, does not see the growing competition between Asia and Europe as a huge problem. "We cannot catch up with the Asian countries," he says, "but we will certainly improve our position in the coming years." As Division Head for North and South America at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Parche says he believes there is a "great future" for collaboration between German and Latin American small and mid-sized businesses.

Günther Maihold: Europe needs to
reach out to Latin America

Germany is still one of the major foreign investors in Latin America. The production volume of local German subsidiaries alone totaled $160 billion in 2010. According to a survey by the Chamber of Commerce's Latin American Association, German direct investment in Latin America doubled from 2001 to 2010, from $ 36 billion to $ 72 billion.

Germany is losing market share

However, Germany's economic influence in Latin America has waned compared to the 1990s. "After German reunification, the door opened to the east, and mid-sized businesses concentrated their resources there," Parche said.

In the 1990s, many Latin American countries embarked upon radical privatization programs. But Germany lagged behind its European neighbors when it came to buying up Latin American companies and resources: Spain became the second-largest investor after the United States, while Germany lost market shares.

In trade relations with the EU, Latin America still occupies a relatively modest position. In 2010, the 27 countries of the EU together exported more goods to Switzerland than to Brazil and Mexico: 105 billion euros worth of exports went to Switzerland, while exports to Brazil and Mexico together totaled a mere 52 billion euros.

Only one of the EU's ten most important trading partners is Latin American: Brazil.

At the summit in Santiago, the EU aims to bridge the growing economic distance between the two regions, at least politically. "A fresh start with less arrogance" is what Maihold is calling for: "The summit is an opportunity to reach out to Latin America," he said.

Because of its financial crisis, Europe needs to look more closely at Latin America as an equal partner. "If we do not seize this opportunity, there will be no future for this languishing relationship."

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