BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a message to Nicolas Maduro, congratulating him on re-election as president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Since taking office, President Maduro has led the Venezuelan government and people in pursuing a development path suited to their own national conditions, making remarkable achievements in national construction, Xi said.

China and Venezuela are good friends that trust each other and good partners for common development, Xi said, adding that China will, as always, firmly support Venezuela’s efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, national dignity and social stability, as well as Venezuela’s just cause of opposing external interference.

Xi said that he highly values the development of China-Venezuela relations and is willing to work with President Maduro to continue guiding the all-weather strategic partnership between China and Venezuela to new heights, so as to benefit the people of both countries. (Xinhua)

Photo: China’s President Xi Jinping and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. (Reuters) …[+]

BRIDGETOWN –  The latest 2024 Henley Passport Index has revealed that some passports in the region have shown an improvement in their rankings.

According to the index, Barbados continues to hold onto the top spot as the most powerful passport in the Caribbean region, showing an improvement in the rankings of Caribbean countries.  The 2024 Henley Passport Index published earlier this month states that Barbados is still the top Caribbean passport positioned globally at number 20 – up from 22 place in January and with a visa-free score of 165.  Following Barbados is The Bahamas, ranking globally at 21, up from 24, with visa-free access to 161 destinations. In third place is St Kitts and Nevis, that moved up from 25th place on the list to 23. Holders of a passport from the twin island federation have visa-free access to 157 destinations. (Jamaica-gleaner)

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The nation’s medical specialists recently made it clear in alter that was sent to SZF Director Jane Harkisoen that if the State Health Insurance Fund (SZF) does not pay them by Wednesday for services rendered in June, they will only provide medical treatment to urgent cases as of Thursday. The SZF has signed an agreement that clearly states that it must pay the specialists on the last day of every month. “Unfortunately we have come to the conclusion that this promise has not been kept for some time. The medical specialists have tolerated the late payments for several months due to the economic situation. There has been a delay in payments despite numerous talks with the Health Ministry and the SZF,” said the medical specialists. A source from within the SZF claimed that the problem lies with the government which only transfers small amounts of money to the bank account of the SZF…[+]

PARAMARIBO – Finance and Planning Minister Stanley Raghoebarsing recently assured that the purchasing power boost for households and retirees would be paid on time. State employees who have already received their salary and vacation pay and who qualify for the purchasing power boost will also receive it.

President Chandrikapersad Santokhi on Friday co firmed that everyone who meets the requirements will receive welfare. At the start of 2024 it was decided that all of the people who receive old age pension would also automatically receive the purchasing power boost.

All that is required of them is that they should be registered in the category poor households and that they must also meet the criteria. But new applicants claim that they face administrative hurdles at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (Sozavo). Meanwhile officials have already reached an agreement with local banks for this group which means that an additional 16,000 Money Cards will be issued each month. President Chandrikapersad Santokhi recently urged his ministers to solve the problems as soon as possible so that people can receive their welfare without delay…[+]

CARACAS – Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas after the electoral authority officially declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of an election that the opposition says was marred by fraud.

The Associated Press and AFP news agencies reported on Monday afternoon that demonstrations broke out near the capital’s largest poor neighbourhood to protest Maduro’s victory in Sunday’s vote. In the Petare area, demonstrators shouted slogans against the president, and some masked young people tore down his campaign posters from lampposts. Police were deployed in large numbers, and members of the National Guard were seen to be firing tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

“It’s going to fall. It’s going to fall. This government is going fall!” some of the protesters shouted. Public anger has swelled after the National Electoral Council (CNE) on Monday formally confirmed that Maduro had been re-elected by a majority of Venezuelans to another six-year term as president “for the period 2025-2031”.

But the CNE, which is controlled by Maduro loyalists, has not released the tallies from each of the 30,000 polling stations across Venezuela, fuelling political tensions in the South American nation and calls for greater transparency. Opposition representatives said earlier that the counts they collected from campaign representatives at the centres had shown opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez trouncing Maduro.

The CNE said Gonzalez had failed to defeat the president, earning 44 percent of the votes compared with Maduro’s 51 percent. Speaking in a televised address from Caracas on Monday, Maduro, 61, claimed, without providing evidence, that “an attempt is being made to impose a coup d’etat in Venezuela”. “We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness,” he added, saying Venezuela’s “law will be respected”. (Al Jazeera)…[+]