Tensions are running high in Haiti’s capital Tuesday, a day after hundreds of university students clashed with police during a protest over the death last week of a university student. Students burned cars and blocked roads Monday in Port-au-Prince, where one person was shot and killed.  University student Gregory Saint-Hilaire was killed last Friday during a small protest by students demanding employment opportunities. Students are blaming police for the deaths of Saint-Hilaire and another person killed during Monday’s protests. The government condemned the death of Saint-Hilaire, adding that police are investigating the circumstances of his death.  
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Peru’s main airport is receiving international flights for the first time in six months after restrictions were put in place to help control the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking at Monday’s reopening in the capital city Lima, Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra expressed confidence that everything had been done to guarantee the opening of international flights does not increase the risk of the coronavirus spreading. Jorge Chavez International Airport is now accepting flights to and from 11 destinations, including Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. Jorge Alvarado, a Chilean citizen who lives and works in Peru said it was emotional returning to Peru for the first time in several months to see his wife.  Peru has resumed limited operations for domestic flights in July, but flights to and from the United States and Europe are still not allowed.  So far, Peru has confirmed more than 829,000 coronavirus infections and more than 32,800 deaths since the outset of the pandemic in March. 
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Hurricane Delta, the ninth storm of the Atlantic season, prompted forecasters to issue warnings for Mexico and Cuba, with the U.S. Gulf coast in striking distance later this week.  The U.S.-based National Hurricane Center said Mexico issued a hurricane warning for the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Tulum north and west to Rio Largartos, including Cozumel. A hurricane watch remains in place for western Cuba, including the Province of Artemisia. The Cayman New service reports the center of Hurricane Delta is expected to pass near the southwest Cayman Islands early Tuesday, bringing heavy rains to the region. The Cayman Islands remain under a tropical storm watch. Forecasters expect Hurricane Delta will continue to gain strength over the coming days as it moves toward the southern Gulf of Mexico. 
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Social activists in Brazil say the coronavirus pandemic is causing an increase in the number of homeless people in country’s largest city, Sao Paulo. Many lost their jobs and found themselves risking their health by crowding into long lines for food distribution. At the Sao Miguel Arcanjo Church, volunteers try to help, but it’s a tiny effort against a mountain of challenges facing the population.  Edgar Maciel reports from Sao Paulo.Camera: Edgar Maciel 
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Authorities in Chile have arrested a police officer who allegedly threw a teen-ager from a bridge into a river bed during a protest.The 16-year-old boy was in stable condition with head trauma and a wrist fracture following the incident in Santiago, Chile’s capital, on Friday. Dozens of people protested on Saturday outside the clinic where he is being treated, condemning police and carrying signs that said: “He did not fall, they threw him.”The incident raised more concerns about police conduct since protests about a wide range of social and economic problems erupted in Chile a year ago. Some 31 people have died in the unrest and numerous allegations of human rights violations were filed against police.The North Central Prosecutor’s Office of Santiago accused the police officer of “causing” the youth to fall and said attempted murder charges would be filed on Sunday.However, Enrique Monrás, chief of police in Santiago’s western area, said the youth had lost his balance and fallen over the bridge railing after the police attempted to arrest him. Ambulances were summoned so that they could provide prompt assistance, Monrás said.The government said in a statement that it condemns any violation of human rights. It said a police officer who “does not comply with the protocols or the law” must be investigated and tried in the courts. 
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Guatemalan authorities said Saturday they have disbanded a caravan of migrants heading north from Honduras, bound for the U.S. border, sending more than 3,000 back home over the past few days.Since Thursday, when thousands of migrants began crossing into Guatemala without permission, authorities said most had “opted to return” and were sent back to Honduras on buses.The caravan had split into two groups Friday, with one headed for the Peten region of northern Guatemala, and the other for the Mexican border city of Tapachula.The group headed for northern Guatemala ran into a roadblock manned by police and soldiers, where so many of their fellow migrants were turned around.A few small groups of migrants could still be seen walking along the highway Saturday morning.Olvin Suazo, 21, and three friends, all farm workers in their early 20s from Santa Barbara, Honduras, said they would continue north.Guatemalan Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Eduardo Sanchez called on Honduras to stop such large groups of migrants, calling them a health risk amid the pandemic.The migrants are headed to the U.S. because of poverty exacerbated by widespread job losses sparked by the pandemic in Latin America.Their journey came two years after a caravan that formed shortly before the U.S. midterm elections and became a campaign issue. Those migrants initially received support from communities along the way, particularly in southern Mexico.But Mexico deployed National Guard troops and immigration agents to intercept large groups of migrants after U.S. President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, threatened tariffs on Mexican imports if it did not stem the flow of migrants to the U.S. border.Mexico’s migration authority chief Francisco Garduno said this week the government would deploy hundreds of military and immigration personnel to its border to prevent the caravan from entering the country.Mexican President Lopez Obrador suggested the caravan was associated with the November 3 U.S. presidential election.“It has to do with the election in the United States,” Obrador told reporters. “I don’t have all the elements, but I think there are indications that it was put together for this purpose. I don’t know to whose benefit, but we’re not naive.”The Trump administration said Thursday it would admit a record low 15,000 refugees during the coming year.Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has vowed to raise the refugee cap to 125,000, saying accepting persecuted people is consistent with American values. 
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Hundreds of Honduran migrants are encountering problems from Guatemalan and Mexican security forces as they continue their journey to the United States.
 
Fears of a confrontation intensified Friday as about 1,000 migrants, who lacked food after walking hundreds of kilometers from Honduras, were blocked by about 100 police and army soldiers at a roadblock in northern Guatemala.
 
Saturday morning, hundreds of the migrants who entered Guatemala without registering were bused back to the Guatemalan border after running into the roadblock.
 
Small groups of migrants were still walking before dawn Saturday along the highway where the roadblock is located, but a short while later none of the estimated 1,000 migrants remained in the area. Undeterred, many of the migrants’ plan to continue their trek to the U.S.
 
Guatemalan authorities said the original group of about 2,000 migrants was split after 108 agreed to return to Honduras, some traveling north to the roadblock, and others walking, hitching rides or catching buses to Guatemala City.
 
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei promised to apprehend the migrants and send them back to the border, declaring they represent a health threat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The migrants are heading to the U.S. as Latin America suffers from widespread job losses sparked by the pandemic.
 
Their journey comes two years after a caravan was formed shortly before the U.S. midterm elections and became a hot campaign issue. The migrants initially received support from communities along the way, particularly in southern Mexico.
 
But Mexico deployed National Guard troops and immigration agents to intercept large groups of migrants after U.S. President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, threatened tariffs on Mexican imports of it did not stem the flow of migrants to the U.S. border.
 
Mexico’s migration authority chief Francisco Garduno said this week the government would deploy hundreds of military and immigration personnel to its border to prevent the caravan from entering the country.
 
Mexican President Lopez Obrador suggested the caravan was associated with the November 3 U.S. presidential election.   
 
“It has to do with the election in the United States,” Obrador told reporters. “I don’t have all the elements, but I think there are indications that it was put together for this purpose. I don’t know to whose benefit, but we’re not naive.”
 
The Trump administration said Thursday it would admit a record low 15,000 refugees during the coming year.
 
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has vowed to raise the refugee cap to 125,000, saying accepting persecuted people is consistent with American values.
 
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President Donald Trump has tested positive  for the coronavirus, joining a small group of world leaders who have been infected. Trump is 74, putting him at higher risk of serious complications. Here’s a look at other leaders who have had the virus. Some are sending Trump their wishes for a speedy recovery.Boris Johnson
The British prime minister was the first major world leader confirmed to have COVID-19, after facing criticism for downplaying the pandemic. He was moved to intensive care in April after his symptoms dramatically worsened a day after he was hospitalized for what were called routine tests. He was given oxygen but did not need a ventilator, officials said. He later expressed his gratitude to National Health Service staff for saving his life when his treatment could have “gone either way.” Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, also tested positive in March and showed mild symptoms.Jair Bolsonaro
The Brazilian president announced his illness in July and used it to publicly extol hydroxychloroquine, the unproven malaria drug that he’d been promoting as a treatment for COVID-19 and was taking himself. For months he had flirted with the virus, calling it a “little flu,” as he flouted social distancing at lively demonstrations and encouraged crowds during outings from the presidential residence, often without a mask.  Juan Orlando Hernandez
The Honduras president announced in June that he had tested positive, along with two other people who worked closely with him. Hernández said he had started what he called the “MAIZ treatment,” an experimental and unproven combination of microdacyn, azithromycin, ivermectin and zinc. He was briefly hospitalized and released. He has added his voice to growing pleas for equitable access to any COVID-19 vaccine, asking the recent U.N. gathering of world leaders, “Are people to be left to die?”  Alexander Lukashenko
The president of Belarus, who dismissed concerns about the virus as “psychosis” and recommended drinking vodka to stay healthy, said in July he had contracted it himself but was asymptomatic. Belarus is one of the few countries that took no comprehensive measures against the virus. Other top officials in former Soviet states who were infected include Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.Prince Albert ii of Monaco
The palace of Monaco in March said the ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality tested positive but his health was not worrying. He was the first head of state who publicly said he was infected.Alejandra Giammattei
The Guatemalan president said he tested positive for the virus in September. “My symptoms are very mild. Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold,” he said during a televised address. “I don’t have a fever, I have a bit of a cough.” He said he’d be working from home.Jeanine Anez
The virus drove the Bolivian interim president into isolation in July, but she said she was feeling well.  Juis Abinader
The newly elected president of the Dominican Republic contracted and recovered from COVID-19 during his campaign. He spent weeks in isolation before the country’s July election.Iran
Iran, the epicenter of the Mideast’s initial coronavirus outbreak, has seen several top officials test positive. Among them are senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar. Cabinet members have tested positive, too.  India  
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, 71, recently tested positive but his office said he had no symptoms and was quarantined at home. Home Minister Amit Shah, the No. 2 man in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, was hospitalized for COVID-19 last month and has recovered. Junior Railways Minister Suresh Angadi last week was the first federal minister to die from COVID-19.Israel
Israel’s then-Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive in April and recovered. Litzman is a leader in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, which has seen a high rate of infection as many have defied restrictions on religious gatherings. The minister for Jerusalem affairs, Rafi Peretz, tested positive over the summer as cases surged nationwide and recovered.South Africa
The country’s defense minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, mineral resources and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, and labor minister, Thulas Nxesi, were infected as cases surged in June and July.South Sudan
Vice President Riek Machar was among several Cabinet ministers infected.Gambia
Vice President Isatou Touray tested positive in July along with the ministers of finance, energy and agriculture.  Guinea-Bissau
Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam in April said he tested positive.
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If you want to send money to someone in Haiti, collect money sent to you in Haiti, or exchange U.S. dollars for Haitian gourdes, you’re out of luck as of October 1.Haiti’s money exchange businesses are shuttered, and agents are on strike to protest a new regulation issued by Haiti’s central bank, Banque de la Republic d’Haiti (BRH).  Law 114-2, announced by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on September 18, aims to “regularize” money transfer procedures by mandating all transactions be paid out in Haitian gourdes. U.S. dollars cannot be collected even when the amount is sent in dollars, unless the recipient has a bank account with a balance in U.S. dollars.”We feel they are trying to target the middle class. This is not in our interest, so we are in the streets protesting as a first measure to let the officials know we won’t accept this,” said Renel Pierre, president of the National Union of Haitian Money Exchange Agents (Union Nationale Des Sous Agents de Transfers d’Haiti, UNATHA), in an interview with VOA Creole during the protest.  Renèl Pierre, president of the National Union of Haitian Money Exchange Agents, speaks during a protest in Port au Prince, Haiti. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)Pierre said the agents are especially angry about not having access to U.S. dollars.”It’s not good for the people, it’s not good for business,” he said. “I feel threatened,” a money transfer employee who participated in the protest told VOA Creole. “Look at how many people this decision is putting out of work. I’m not working today; this affects my children and other people who are connected to this business. Factories are starting to close. This is not good for Haiti.”The man, who did not want to give his name, said transfer agents would like to discuss the new measure with officials and negotiate better terms. Diaspora remittancesThe Haitian diaspora sent about Frantz Bernard Craan, president of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (Photo Renan Toussaint)According to Craan, in September 2018 the government issued a decree mandating all businesses display their prices in gourdes, but because of the economic crisis that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses did not adhere to it. So in September 2020, the Minister of Commerce issued a communique giving all businesses operating in Haiti 72 hours to display their prices in gourdes.Discussions followed on how to make that happen without causing too many disruptions for businesses and consumers. A memorandum was signed on September 22, he told VOA.  “As I have said, the only matter that concerns us for now is doing transactions in gourdes, but the memorandum also includes additional measures which should allow for — if everyone does their part — stabilizing the exchange rate. Because when there is instability such as we saw in 2019-2020, where the rate of inflation reached 40% and a 60% correction was needed, that makes it very difficult for businesses and consumers alike,” Craan said. Opposition support for protestThe money transfer protest received support from opposition party Pitit Dessalines leader Jean Charles Moise, who decried the measure as extremely unfair to the poor.  Jean Charles Moïse, leader of Pitit Dessalines opposition party, speaks in Port au Prince, Haiti. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)”It’s as if they take us for fools,” he told VOA Creole. “They know this will benefit them (the banks). When you force people to do business in gourdes, it will create an artificial shortage of U.S. dollars in the country. People won’t find dollars they need to conduct business. That will spark inflation, too, and a shortage of goods. People must be paid remittances in U.S. dollars.” Support for regulation Human rights lawyer Fanfan Levelle thinks the BRH regulation is a good idea.  “I agree with law 114-2, but I also think (BRH) needs to relieve the pressure on other sectors of the economy,” Levelle  said. “When you say money exchanges must pay out remittances in gourdes it’s a good decision, but let’s say a person is renting a home to someone living abroad who sends them $4,000 in U.S. dollars for rent that they go to cash in. They will receive that according to the exchange rate on the day the transaction occurred, which could cause them to fall short.”  He also expressed concern the measure will create new problems going forward.  A money transfer business is shuttered in protest of new regulation, in Port au Prince, Haiti. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)Central bank criticism  Out on the streets of Port-au-Prince, dozens of people participated in a sit-in in front of the BRH office.  “Our demands will increase by the day,” Etzer Jean Louis, leader of the Assembly of Political Opposition Parties (Ansanm Oganizasyon Politik de l’Opozisyon), told VOA, adding that this is his seventh sit-in. “We asked him (BRH chief Jean Baden Dubois) to lower the exchange rate, he refuses to listen to reason — instead, he issued this 114-2 law. We are defending the people and we can’t let this go.”  Jean Louis also criticized Dubois, who was previously the director-general of the bank, as being unqualified for the position he holds.  “The Central Bank governor Jean Baden Dubois is not an economist, we know he’s not an economist — they put him here as a figurehead to serve the oligarchy and do their bidding. The people need to breathe. They are oppressed,” he said. Businesses that regularly use money transfer services were also in the streets of Port-au-Prince on Thursday, in a show of solidarity. They told VOA they will keep supporting the exchange agents and money transfer owners until the BRH goes back on its decision.  
 
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About 2,000 Honduran migrants hoping to reach the United States entered Guatemala on foot Thursday morning, testing the newly reopened frontier that had been shut by the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities had planned to register the migrants as they crossed and offer assistance to those willing to turn back, but the group crossed the official border at Corinto without registering, according to Guatemala immigration authorities. Outnumbered officials made no attempt to stop them. Before the crossing, Edwin Omar Molino, a 17-year-old from Cortes, said he wanted to leave Honduras because he couldn’t find work. He blamed President Juan Orlando Hernández for running the country into the ground.  “Even when you want to find a job, there aren’t any. That’s why we leave our country,” Molino said. “There’s the pandemic, and it scares me,” he added. But he said he wouldn’t be able to help his family get ahead without taking the risk. Migrants get a free ride from a trucker toward the Guatemalan border after leaving San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Oct. 1, 2020.Central American migrants began traveling in large groups in recent years, seeking safety in numbers and in some cases avoiding the cost of smugglers. Calls for a new migrant caravan to leave Oct. 1 had circulated for weeks on social media. The odds of a large migrant caravan reaching the U.S. border, already low, have grown increasingly slim over the past year. Under pressure from the United States, Mexico deployed its National Guard and more immigration agents to break up attempted caravans last year. They dispersed large groups of migrants attempting to travel together in southern Mexico. Crossing into the U.S. legally is virtually impossible now with the pandemic, and entering illegally is as difficult as ever. The departure of the new group was reminiscent of a migrant caravan that formed two years ago shortly before U.S. midterm elections. It became a hot issue in the campaign, fueling anti-immigrant rhetoric. While the caravans draw attention, they account for only a small fraction of the daily migration flow by small groups that pass unnoticed through Central America and Mexico.  The migrants who arrived at the Guatemala border on Thursday had set out walking the previous night from San Pedro Sula, jumping the gun on their own scheduled departure. At the border, Guatemalan officials were asking the migrants to provide documents showing a negative COVID-19 test — even though last week they said they wouldn’t require a test for those spending less than 72 hours in the country. Dozens of Guatemalan police and soldiers were maintaining order.  But about 2,000 migrants hustled through without registering. In addition, AP journalists saw others crossing the border illegally near the formal crossing. There were no reports of violence.  In the past, authorities have set up roadblocks deeper in the country to winnow larger groups. A regional agreement allows citizens of Honduras to transit through Guatemala. Migrants attempt to cross the border from Corinto, Honduras, into Corinto, Guatemala, Oct. 1, 2020.Those who walked down dark streets Wednesday night away from San Pedro Sula’s bus station carried small knapsacks, and many wore masks. They appeared to be mostly young men, though there were the occasional small children being pushed in strollers. Governments throughout the region made it known they were watching Wednesday. Mexico’s immigration agency said in a statement that it would enforce “safe, orderly and legal” migration and not do anything to promote the formation of a caravan. The U.S. Embassy in Honduras said Wednesday on Twitter that migration to the U.S. was more difficult than ever right now — and more dangerous because of the coronavirus. Poverty, crimeBut the factors driving migrants to leave Central America certainly haven’t eased during the pandemic. As economies have suffered, there are ever fewer jobs to be had, and the struggle for families to put food on the table has only worsened. Some migrants also cited the ever-present high rate of crime. The U.N.’s International Labor Organization said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America because of the pandemic. The ILO lists Latin America and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region in the world in terms of lost working hours, with a drop of 20.9% in the first three quarters of the year. Status of bordersThe flow of migrants north from Central America had slowed dramatically during the pandemic as countries throughout the region closed their borders. Most migrant shelters along the principal routes closed their doors to new arrivals as they tried to keep the virus from spreading to vulnerable populations. Mexico and the United States deported hundreds of migrants back to their home countries to try to empty detention centers. Guatemala has now opened all of its borders, including the one with Mexico. But the U.S.-Mexico border remains closed for nonessential travel, and the U.S. government effectively shut down the asylum system at its southern border during the pandemic.  Mexico tried to bus asylum-seekers stuck at its northern border to other parts of the country and back to their home countries. Mexico has typically offered migrants the opportunity to seek asylum there, but many have their minds set on the United States. Migrants are also likely to find it more difficult to find work in Mexico now as the economy is expected to contract 10% this year because of the impact of the pandemic. 
 
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Hundreds of Central American migrants have begun a long journey on foot in hopes of reaching the United States.The Associated Press reports the caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, late Wednesday for the Guatemala border, which reopened two weeks ago after restricting travel for months to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Although smaller than caravans of recent years that numbered in the thousands, the group has gotten the attention of Mexico and the United States.A Twitter message from the U.S. Embassy in Honduras on Wednesday seemed to discourage the journey, saying that migration to the U.S. was more difficult than before and more dangerous because of the coronavirus.Mexico said in a statement it would make sure the activities of the migrants are legal and not disruptive.The flow of Central American migrants heading north has slowed during the pandemic, but migration experts note the factors and conditions spurring people to leave the region have not abated.
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Famed Argentine cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado, who is known as Quino, is being remembered beyond Latin America for the iconic “Mafalda” comic strip following his death Wednesday at age 88.Quino fan Claudio Demichelis said, “His humor is universal but especially we (Argentines) can understand it in depth because he saw all the problems we have, all of them, and he expressed all of them with his soul, for me, he is a part of our history.””Mafalda” featured a young Argentine girl who used humor to express her strong political views. Lavado drew it from 1964 to 1973.“Mafalda” was published in more than two dozen languages.Some fans paid tribute to Quino by leaving flowers at replicas of Mafalda in Buenos Aires. 
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Gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot to death a journalist in Honduras who had worked in radio and television before starting his own social media information channel.  
 
A relative said Monday that journalist Luis Almendares was getting out of his car to visit a store when the attackers drove up and shot him to death before fleeing.  
 
The attack took place Sunday in the city of Comayagua. Still alive, Almendares began taping the scene of the attack with his cellphone. He died later at a hospital in Tegucigalpa, the capital.
 
Almendares worked for Radio Globo and TV Azteca in the past. Known for his hard-hitting style, he frequently accused the police and the government of wrongdoing.  
 
Relatives said he had reported receiving death threats in the past.
 
The Honduran association of journalists says 87 media workers had been killed in the country since 2001. Only about seven of those killings have resulted in prosecutions.  
 
In July, a television reporter and a cameraman were shot to death in La Ceiba, a town on Honduras’ northern Caribbean coast that has been wracked by gang violence in the past.
The president of the Honduran association of journalists, Dagoberto Rodríguez, said the group had decided to stop participating in a government protection program.
 
 There are currently 44 journalists receiving protection because they have experienced threats or harassment.
 
“We have decided to withdraw, until there is some real action on solving the deaths of journalists and the system is reformed,” Rodríguez said. “We do not want the cases in the program to be so bureaucratic, and we want a real budget to protect threatened journalists, because the funding now only serves to pay for (program) employees.”
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Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his son and other top officials for allegedly rigging the country’s presidential election and committing acts of violence against protesters.The sanctions are the first imposed by major Western powers against Belarusian government officials and subject them to an immediate travel ban and asset freeze.Lukashenko’s post-election crackdown has resulted in the arrest of more than 12,000 people who participated in mass demonstrations that erupted after he claimed victory in an election that opponents allege was stolen. Lukashenko has denied the election was fixed.British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab speaks at a press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington.“Today the U.K. and Canada have sent a clear message by imposing sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s violent and fraudulent regime,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.“We don’t accept the results of the election,” the statement added. “We will hold those responsible for the thuggery deployed against the Belarusian people to account and we will stand up for our values of democracy and human rights.”In an interview with Reuters, Raab also mentioned Lukashenko ally Vladimir Putin, although the sanctions did not target the Russian president.Canadian Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne said, “Canada will not stand by silently as the government of Belarus continues to commit systematic human rights violations and shows no indication of being genuinely committed to finding a negotiated solution with opposition groups.”In addition to Lukashenko and his son, Viktor, who is his chief-of-staff, Britain’s sanctions target the interior minister and two deputy interior ministers. Canada has sanctioned Lukashenko and 10 others.Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sept. 29, 2020.Earlier Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged European support for the people of Belarus after he met with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.The talks took place in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where Tsikhanouskaya fled after the August presidential election in Belarus sparked a political crisis.Many in Belarus reject the official results of the election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office, and thousands have protested in the weeks following the vote.The European Union said last week it does not recognize Lukashenko as president, and Macron has said he must step down.
 
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Colombian authorities say former paramilitary chief Rodrigo Tovar Pupo is back in the country to answer dozens of criminal complaints stemming from his role in atrocities ranging from mass killings to torture. He was deported Monday from the United States, where he served 12 of a 16-year sentence for drug trafficking.  Tovar Pupo was once a high-ranking leader of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), blamed for massacres during the country’s bloody civil conflict. The AUC is widely believed to have used its battles with leftist rebels to hide their illicit activities, including drug trafficking and extortion. 
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Women demanding that Mexico legalize abortion nationwide clashed with police in the capital, Mexico City, on Monday. Police fired tear gas at groups of protesters, some of whom reportedly threw projectiles, including bottles. The government said nearly a dozen police were injured in the melee. Protesters said they were victims of police brutality.Riot police get covered in red paint by abortion-rights demonstrators during the “Day for Decriminalization of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean” march in Mexico City, Sept. 28, 2020.The demonstration in the mostly Catholic country came on International Safe Abortion Day. Abortion is only legal in Mexico City and the southern state of Oaxaca during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion is only allowed in the rest of the country under limited circumstances, such as if a woman has been raped. 
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Mexican authorities have issued dozens of arrest warrants for police and soldiers who they believe may have participated in the 2014 disappearance of 43 Mexican college students, the head of the investigation said Saturday.Omar Gomez, head of the special prosecutor’s office for the case, told a news conference in Mexico City the warrants had been issued for the “material and intellectual authors” of the crime, including military members, and federal and municipal police.The announcement came during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on the sixth anniversary of the students’ kidnapping. During the event, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Mexico’s Undersecretary of Human Rights Alejandro Encinas held fabrics embroidered by relatives of the victims, many of whom attended the ceremony holding large pictures of the disappeared students.Saturday marks the first time in the case that Mexican authorities have announced arrest warrants for military personnel. Reuters reported earlier in the week that arrest warrants were imminent.The Mexican military did not respond to initial requests for comment.The students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College disappeared on September 26, 2014, in the state of Guerrero. The remains of only two of the students have been positively identified so far.The unsolved kidnapping of the young men who were training to be teachers convulsed the country, sparking massive protests in 2014 and garnering international condemnation as one of the darkest examples of the government’s long-standing difficulty preventing violence or convicting those responsible.In June, authorities announced the apprehension of the leader of a Guerrero gang accused of involvement in the disappearance, and arrest warrants for Guerrero officials in connection with the case.Family members of the victims have long accused Mexican authorities, including the military, of complicity in the students’ disappearance.”The military participated,” Maria Martinez Zeferino, the mother of one of the disappeared students, said during Saturday’s news conference.
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United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is calling on Venezuela to release all political prisoners and end the repression of political and civil rights.  In November, Penal Forum, a Venezuelan network of criminal defense lawyers reported there were 400 government opponents in Venezuela prisons. Bachelet presented an update of conditions in Venezuela before the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
 
While the report presents a generally a bleak picture of human rights in Venezuela, Bachelet said there are a few bright spots. She welcomed the recent pardon by President Nicolas Maduro’s government of 110 political opponents who had been detained for months and the release of 40 others.
 
However, she said many dissidents and human rights defenders still are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty for exercising their civic and democratic rights. She said they too should be released.
 
“There are still cases of repression of peaceful protesters in the state of emergency that has been in place since March, including the detention of people protesting because of low wages and the lack of public services and the lack of fuel.… There are also restrictions on freedom of expression. This includes the application of the anti-hatred legislation, and also legislation against human rights activists,” Bachelet said.FILE – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet adjusts her glasses during the opening of 45th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 14, 2020.The U.N. refugee agency reports an estimated 4.5 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 because of persecution and economic hardship. Many have since returned home because COVID-19 restrictions have made it impossible for them to earn a living in their countries of refuge.
 
Bachelet said she is concerned some Venezuelan authorities are stigmatizing migrants returning to the country. She said many are being blamed for bringing COVID-19 to Venezuela and some are being detained.
    
“There are protocols which apply to detention centers concerning COVID-19 but it is important to improve the situation concerning access to water, health care and medication and to ensure continuous contact with the lawyers and relatives—be it in person or through virtual means,” Bachelet said.   
    
Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Jorge Valero, lashed out at what he called a small group of hostile countries who backed a resolution at the council directing the high commissioner to monitor the situation in his country.   
 
He rejected the high commissioner’s report, saying it distorted the truth and was based on biased information used to fuel a media campaign against Venezuela. 
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American rap star and third-party U.S. presidential candidate Kanye West visited Haiti on Friday, Haitian President Jovenel Moise announced on Twitter.“I’m with famous American rapper Kanye West who just arrived in the country to visit Labadee and l’Ile de la Tortue. I wish him a great visit,” Moise tweeted.The post, which included four photos, show both the president and West wearing face masks.The purpose of West’s visit to the Caribbean nation remains unclear. He has not posted anything about it on his official Twitter account, @kanyewest. President Moise’s tweet provided no further details.According to local media, the rap star, 43, landed Friday morning at the Cape Haitien international airport and was met there by the president. Official Haitian greeters, fans, airport workers and members of the press crowded into the small airport’s diplomatic lounge to catch a glimpse of West, who was wearing a lilac hoodie, dark pants and his signature sneakers. President Moise accompanied him on a visit to two picturesque islands.Labadee island, located off the coast of Cape Haitien in Haiti’s north, is a resort predominantly frequented by foreign tourists. The island is leased by Royal Caribbean cruise lines and features turquoise waters, sandy beaches and an assortment of water rides.Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga island) is also a popular tourist destination off Haiti’s northwestern coast.Cape Haitien, where West landed, is Haiti’s second-largest city. It is home to the renowned historical site, Citadelle Laferriere, a 19th century fortress that was instrumental in the slave revolution to gain independence from France in 1804.This is the rap star’s second jaunt to the Caribbean in a week. The Miami Herald reported that West made a visit last week to Jamaica, where he was accused of breaking COVID-19 protocols after photos surfaced of him without a face mask with reggae music star Buju Banton.West announced his candidacy for U.S. president on July 4, 2020, and is officially on the ballot for the November election in 11 states.
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Haitian National policeman Pascal Alexandre is a free man — for now — after being conditionally released Friday from the National Penitentiary, where he had been held for nearly five months, after violent protests by a rogue police group calling for his freedom.Alexandre, who is a member of the national police’s anti-drug force, was arrested May 8 and accused of assault with a deadly weapon and destruction of public property. He was arrested after an altercation between the rogue police group Fantom 509 and a member of the elite Special Weapons and Tactics force (SWAT), during which the SWAT officer was allegedly disarmed and forced into a vehicle.Alexandre, wearing a dark gray T-shirt and face mask as he left the Port-au-Prince court where he was arraigned, was accompanied by his lawyer, Andre Michel.Michel told reporters the judge agreed to release his client on the condition that he make himself available to respond to any questions that may arise and to appear in court, if necessary, in the coming weeks.Lawyer Andre Michel talks to reporters about the conditions for Alexandre’s release from prison. (Matiado Vilme /VOA Créole)”Pascal Alexandre is a lucky man because he appeared before an independent judge, a courageous judge, an honest judge, a judge who knows his job,” the lawyer said. “After examining the case and the accusations against him, the judge agreed that they were groundless, a veritable tempest in a teapot.”Many Haitians distrust the judicial system, alleging that most of its judges are corrupt.Haiti’s National Police force has also struggled to improve its image, investing in training and equipment, partially financed by the United States.The Trump administration has requested $128.2 million in assistance for Haiti in fiscal year 2021, intended to “foster the institutions and infrastructure necessary to achieve strong democratic foundations and meaningful poverty reduction” according to Rapper 222 Flow says the neighborhood is thrilled to have Pascal Alexandre back home. (Matiado Vilme /VOA Créole)The policeman’s release was a key demand during a series violent protests orchestrated by Fantom 509 (Ghosts of 509, which is the area code for Haiti) in the Haitian capital earlier this month. The group claims to represent officers who have died in the line of duty and says their goal is to correct injustices.The group, armed with high-powered weapons, has orchestrated several violent street protests, demanding justice.Among state buildings targeted in their most recent protests, September 12-14, were the Immigration Service, the newly constructed National Identification Office (ONI), which distributes the ID cards required for bank transactions, property purchases, travel and other official matters. Government vehicles including garbage trucks were also damaged.During the September 12 protest, members of Fantom 509 fired at the home of chief prosecutor Ducarmel Gabriel to demand the release of four fellow police officers charged with dereliction of duty. They had been accused of failing to secure the crime scene in the home where Port-au-Prince bar association chief Monferrier Dorval was slain.Dorval’s home was ransacked, and potentially valuable evidence was destroyed, according to the lead investigator. A short time after the shooting incident, the four officers were released from jail.During a September 14 protest, VOA asked one of the Fantom 509 officers what sparked their rampage.”We’re fighting for our brother’s freedom,” the policeman, dressed in uniform and wearing a facemask, told VOA Creole. “That’s why each time we hit the streets and our demands are not met by officials, we will hold them responsible (for whatever happens). We will keep this up until Pascal Alexandre is free. Wherever we see injustices – we will respond with civil disobedience.”Fantom 509 threatened during the September 14 protest to burn the capital city down to the ground if Alexandre was not released. When VOA Creole asked them why they were resorting to violence rather than petitioning the minister of justice, they responded that their colleague was unjustly arrested, so that “is not an option.””The government had Pascal arrested, so we are dealing directly with the government,” the officer told VOA.
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For people around the world, the coronavirus has caused distressing separations and delayed homecomings. But the situation for a group of 25 residents from remote Easter Island stands out.  
For six months now the group has been stranded far across a vast stretch of ocean on Tahiti in French Polynesia. Children remain separated from their parents, husbands from their wives.  
Mihinoa Terakauhau Pont, a 21-year-old mom who is among those stranded, is due to give birth to her second son any day now but can’t have her husband by her side because he’s back home. Her grief has left her exhausted.
“I can’t cry anymore,” she said. “My heart is cold.”
Usually considered a tropical paradise, Tahiti has become a kind of prison to them. Many arrived in March planning to stay for just a few weeks — they’d come for work, or a vacation, or for medical procedures. But they got stuck when the virus swept across the globe and their flights back home were canceled.
Each day they have been going to the authorities and begging for help in Spanish, in French, and in English. They’ve considered chartering a plane or trying to hitch a lift on a military ship to make the journey of some 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles). But each time their hopes rise a little, their plans turn out to be too expensive or impractical.
Home to about 8,000 people, Easter Island is a tiny speck in the vast Pacific Ocean, located midway between Polynesia, in the South Pacific, and South America. Also named Rapa Nui, the Chilean territory is renowned for its imposing moai — giant heads carved from volcanic rock by inhabitants hundreds of years ago. For Easter Islanders, Tahiti has long been a stopping-off point, a connection to the rest of the world.
Until the virus struck, LATAM airlines ran a regular return route from Santiago, Chile, to Easter Island and on to Tahiti. LATAM said it suspended the route in March because of the virus and doesn’t have a timeline for restarting it. No other airlines offer a similar service.
“The resumption of this flight is subject to the development of the pandemic and travel restrictions in place,” the airline said in a statement.
Terakauhau Pont arrived in Tahiti in January to visit her first son, who was staying on a nearby island with her parents. She was due to fly home in March. As the weeks trying to get a flight back slipped into months, she heard from afar that her husband had lost his job at a hotel because of the downturn in the tourism industry caused by the virus.
Now, Terakauhau Pont’s mother has started a garden and her father is going fishing so they have enough food to eat each day.
“It’s the only way to survive,” she said.
She has pleaded with the authorities to help, and has even written to leaders in mainland Chile and on Easter Island, but without any success.  
“It is so much grief for all of us,” she said.
She said the person who has done the most to help is Kissy Baude, a 40-year-old administrative technician who has lived in Tahiti for years but was due to start a new job on her native Easter Island in April.  
Because of her contacts on Tahiti, Baude has become the unofficial leader of the group — its social worker, psychologist and spokesperson. Baude said the group has survived thanks to the generosity of Tahitians, who have been providing them with food and accommodation long after many of them ran out of their own resources.
Baude said that before the virus struck, she was eagerly anticipating returning to Easter Island. She was looking forward to seeing her mother, who has a room prepared and waiting. But now, her mother’s husband also remains stranded with her on Tahiti, after traveling there for colon surgery in March.
Baude said one option they’ve been exploring is to fly a circuitous route to Los Angeles and then to Santiago and hope they get repatriated from there. But even then their return isn’t certain and many in the group can’t afford the expense.
Among the 16 females and nine males stranded are seven children aged between 2 and 14. And the clan is expected to grow by one on about Oct. 3, the day Terakauhau Pont is due to give birth to a son that she and her husband plan to name Anuihere.
Some in the group have struggled to find enough money simply to eat, while others have found it tough going emotionally. Lately, they have been able to collect some money online after setting up two donation pages.
Baude gets emotional when talking about their situation. She said some of them fear speaking up in case they face repercussions back on Easter Island, but she isn’t afraid.
“We just want to go back to our homeland,” she said.
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Aviation officials say a business jet reported stolen in Mexico made a stop in Venezuela before crashing and catching fire in Guatemala. Drugs and some weapons were found at the crash site.Prosecutors in Guatemala said at least two bodies were found at the crash site Wednesday on a hidden air strip.Mexico’s Civil Aviation Agency said three thieves flew off with the plane after gaining access to it under the guise they were mechanics who were going to perform a flight test and maintenance check.Guatemalan investigators are still trying to determine what caused the plane to go down.The Associated Press reports Guatemala confiscated more than 50 aircraft last year on suspicion of transporting drugs.  
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Rio de Janeiro is postponing February’s annual Carnival parade for the first time in a century because of Brazil’s ongoing struggle to contain the coronavirus.Rio’s League of Samba Schools (LIESA) announced Thursday night that the spread of the coronavirus has made it impossible to safely hold parades and events, which are the financial lifeblood of many participants.Jorge Castanheir, president of LIESA, said schools will not have the time or the financial and organizational capabilities to make the Carnival parade possible for February.Castanheir did not give an alternate date for the parade but said it will depend on whether a vaccine is available and if there will be immunizations.So far, the Rio city government has not announced whether the Carnival street parties will be held.Brazil has the highest tally of coronavirus infections in Latin America with more than 4.6 million cases and nearly 140,000 deaths.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled a plan Wednesday to address social inequalities laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic and create 1 million jobs during recovery, while also extending emergency measures for a second wave of COVID-19.In the so-called throne speech, read by Governor General Julie Payette at a joint sitting of MPs and senators, Trudeau’s government vowed to eliminate homelessness, hasten Canada’s fight against climate change and introduce national child care and pharmacare programs.It said it aims in the short term to also restore employment to pre-pandemic levels, and both extend and broaden emergency aid measures to keep the economy rolling.”This is our generation’s crossroads,” Payette said in the speech.”Do we move Canada forward, or let people be left behind? Do we come out of this stronger, or paper over the cracks that the crisis has exposed?” she said. “This is the opportunity to contain the global crisis and build back better, together.”Infrastructure, training, hiringThe plan calls for direct infrastructure investment, training to quickly equip workers with new skills, and incentives for employers to hire and retain workers.Exceeding Canada’s 2030 carbon emissions reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels will also be a “cornerstone” of job creation efforts, according to the speech.”The economic restart,” Payette said, “is now well underway.””This is not the time for austerity,” she said, hinting at additional debt-financing for Canada’s recovery, alongside taxing “extreme wealth inequality.””This COVID-19 emergency has had huge costs,” Payette said. “But Canada would have had a deeper recession and a bigger long-term deficit if the government had done less.”The government, she added, will “do whatever it takes, using whatever fiscal firepower is needed to support people and businesses during the pandemic.”‘Bold new solutions’Wednesday evening, Trudeau was to give a separate and rare televised address to the nation to stress the urgency in fighting the pandemic.Polling shows most Canadians are satisfied with Trudeau’s management of the crisis so far. But the “bold new solutions” outlined in the throne speech will require Parliament’s nod in the coming weeks.Canada’s Governor General Julie Payette greets Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner as she arrives with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to deliver the throne speech in the Senate chamber, Sept. 23, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario.If all three opposition parties reject his minority Liberal government’s New Deal-style reforms, Canada will be heading to the polls in the middle of the pandemic.The Tories and the Bloc Quebecois said they would vote against the plan, while the New Democrats urged even more social spending and paid sick leave for all in order to get their support.It is arguably an awkward time for sweeping policy changes, or as critics suggested, to dare the opposition to force snap elections.Earlier Wednesday, chief public health officer Theresa Tam warned of a potential “big resurgence” in coronavirus cases without strong actions to limit spread of the virus.”The national daily case count has been increasing at an accelerated rate,” Tam said, as millions of Canadians returned to work and school this month.The Conservatives elected a new leader only last month: Erin O’Toole, who is not well known to Canadians.Both O’Toole and Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet are isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 and did not attend the speech.Support from lawmakersTrudeau, however, insisted he needs to test parliamentary support for his policy goals, as Canada’s circumstances are dramatically different than when he won his mandate last year.Under the pandemic, the country’s jobless rate peaked at 13.9% in May, while the economy contracted at a record 38.7% in the second quarter.Ottawa has already doled out more than $230 billion in emergency aid in the last six months.The costs of the new measures are to be outlined in an upcoming budget.An Abacus Data poll, meanwhile, indicated that if an election were held now, it most likely would result in another minority Liberal government.
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