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IMF working closely with Suriname, looks for China
progress
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Brazil's Lula listed in Time's 100 most influential people
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Mexico's deadly fire a sign to rethink migrant policy: Red
Cross
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Taiwan to inject $18.5 million in St Lucia development project
(Updates with fresh stories)
April 13 (Reuters) -
The latest in Latin American politics today:
Chile mining minister sees copper 'production slump' reversing SANTIAGO - Chile's copper production should pick up in the coming years after a recent slump, mining minister Marcela Hernando told Reuters, adding that dialogue with mining firms over planned tax and royalty changes was helping ease industry concerns. The Andean country is the world's top producer of copper, key to the global push towards vehicle electrification. On April 17, the world's top copper players will travel to Chile for the first in-person CRU World Copper Conference since the start of the pandemic to discuss demand, prices, supply and other industry topics.
IMF working closely with Suriname authorities, looks for progress in China talks The International Monetary Fund is working closely with Suriname authorities to bring their financing program back, while looking for progress in government talks with China, a key creditor, an IMF official said at a press conference. The IMF and Suriname engaged in a financing program for nearly $700 million in late 2021, but it stalled after the first review was approved more than a year ago.
Colombian armed groups and gangs have 17,600 members, intelligence reports find
BOGOTA - More than 17,600 people are members of Colombia's four major armed groups and 23 gangs with which the government hopes to reach peace or surrender deals with, two security agency reports seen by Reuters show. The newly updated figures, which have not been reported before, are an effort to understand the current composition of the groups, security sources said.
Brazil's Lula is listed among Time Magazine's 100 most
influential people
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2023, released on Thursday, the third time the leftist President has appeared on the annual list. Lula had been ranked in the magazine's list of the 100 most influential personalities back in 2004 and 2010.
Mexico's deadly fire a sign to rethink migrant detention centers, Red Cross says
MEXICO CITY - The fire that led to the deaths of 40 people in a migrant detention center in northern Mexico marks a "good moment" to consider alternatives to depriving migrants of their freedom, a senior Red Cross regional officer said. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the detainees had been unable to escape because the person in charge of the key to the cell was not there when the fire began. The incident is one of the deadliest migrant tragedies in years. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Sarah Morland; Editing by Diane Craft)
