Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Security’ Category

Cape Verde Politics & Islands

In Cape Verde, Elections, Politics, Security, Tourism on August 27, 2010 at 8:35 am

ELECTIONS

November 26, 2010 is the date agreed to by Cape Verde’s two largest political parties, the governing PAICV and opposition MpD, as the conclusion of the voter registration process in Cape Verdean communities abroad (A Semana).

ATLANTICO WEEKLY POLL

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

For the first time in history, relations between the Republic of Cape Verde and the Vatican will be regulated by a Concordat. Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves will travel to Rome next month to sign the treaty, which will make Cape Verde the third Portuguese-speaking country, after Portugal and Brazil, to enter into this type of protocol with the Holy See (A Semana).

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DEFENCE

Minister of Defense Cristina Fontes Lima has assured the President of Guinea Bissau that Cape Verde is willing to train military personnel on any level Guinea Bissauan authorities deem necessary (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

If the jewel in the crown of Santiago’s tourist industry is Tarrafal, its beach is even more so (A Semana).

Cape Verde politics & regional

In Cape Verde, Infrastructure, Politics, Security on August 1, 2010 at 8:48 am

POLITICS

The president of opposition party MpD presented the political force’s platform for next year’s legislative elections, speaking about state reform – in which the main proposal is increased regionalization – and the economy. According to Carlos Veiga, the Cape Verdean economy is in freefall, and the government is to blame (A Semana).

Opposition leader Carlos Veiga believes the time has come to “institute a supra-municipal authority on the islands” to give regions greater autonomy and free the government of some of its administrative tasks. This regionalization concept is part of the administrative reform proposed by the MpD as a part of its governing platform for the 2011 legislative elections (A Semana).

DEFENCE

Minister of National Defense Cristina Fontes Lima officially received an Arcanjo coastal patrol vessel, a donation from the United States government in Mindelo. The vessel will be used to patrol Cape Verde’s seas in the fight against drug trafficking and other illicit activities (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

The government has signed a contract with the company that will carry out restoration and rehabilitation work on the road connecting Variante (São Domingos), Pedra Badejo (Santa Cruz) and Calheta (São Miguel) on the island of Santiago (A Semana).

The 450 million-escudo public subscription offer of Praia municipal chamber future bonds on the Cape Verde Stock Exchange “has been successful, with 100% of the offer having been underwritten.” The Praia municipal chamber has thus assured financing for the city’s new municipal market and will “immediately” get started with the call for bids for the project, which is expected to be concluded within a year (A Semana).

The City hall of Praia and the Public Municipal Parking Company of Lisbon (EMEL) signed a memorandum of cooperation for development of economic viability study of the parking area for relieving of Plateau (INforpress).

BOA VISTA

Robberies and muggings targeting tourists on the island of Boa Vista saw a slight increase in the first six months of 2010, in comparison with the same period last year. The local National Police command has received an average of one complaint per week (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The Nova Experiência Marítima Community Association in Cruzinha, on the island of Santo Antão, is one of the winners of the 2010 Equator Prize in Africa for the work it has developed to protect seas turtles in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Cape Verde: politics & regional

In Cape Verde, Economy, Infrastructure, Politics, Security on June 6, 2010 at 7:48 am

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Last week’s Atlantico Weekly poll on Cape Verde’s best strategic international partners turned out some surprising results. You, Cape Verde policymakers, experts and friends like to spread out the interests of the country with as many partners as possible, but Cape Verde’s most favoured partner is still the former colonial power Portugal (receiving 18 % of all votes cast). Both the EU and Brazil compete for second place with around 15% each. The US, China and Angola come next, with Cuba and France further back and with the Arab world and Venezuela at the bottom of the list. Some 6% of you feel that Cape Verde does not need any international partners as all.

The first edition of the ECOWAS/Brazil Summit will take place on the island of Sal in the month of July, and will feature the presence of Brazilian President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in addition to heads of state and government from the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The Village Porto Inglês and the beach of Ponta Preta in Maio welcomed operations of the military exercise “ALGA 010″, whose objective is to prepare the Cape Verdean Armed Forces for landing missions, patrolling and humanitarian operations (InforPress).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Praia State Prosecutor’s Office has frozen all of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ accounts due to its failure to abide by a ruling handed down in February of 2010 obliging the company to reintegrate pilot Domingos Fontes, who the court had found to have been unjustly suspended from his functions (A Semana).

A total of 155 firearms, of which 50 percent craft weapons, was apprehended during the period from 1st April to 30th May in Cape Verde,  the Minister of the Internal Administration, Lívio Lopes announced (InforPress).

BOA VISTA

Boa Vista should receive the kick off of the Project Safe Tourism, which aims in particular to prevent violence and crime against the tourists (Inforpress).

CIDADE VELHA

Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves received the UNESCO certificate confirming Cidade Velha’s inclusion on its list of World Heritage Sites from the hands of Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Juca Ferreira. The moment was “important and significant” and included mutual praise from both Neves and Ferreira, who share the common objective of seeing their respective countries develop further through a more intensive cultural and social partnership (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The regional prison of Santo Antão will be built in the municipality of Porto Novo (Inforpress).

Cape Verde: Politics & Regional

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Elections, Infrastructure, Politics, Security on May 16, 2010 at 10:14 am

ELECTIONS

The Pró Zona Civic Movement will hold an event aimed at supporting Jorge Carlos Fonseca’s run in the 2011 presidential elections in Cape Verde. The event, organized by Cape Verdean immigrants in Portugal, will take place in the Portuguese city of Moita (A Semana).

José Moreira has been chosen as the new general secretary of the MpD. His election took place during a meeting of the party’s National Directorship in Assomada (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

A project aimed at developing the shorelines of the Poilão reservoir on the island of Santiago will begin next week. The first phase, which will include the construction of infrastructures, was financed by USAID the tune of 20 million escudos (A Semana).

SAO VICENTE

National Police on the island of São Vicente affirm that a significant reduction in crimes against people and property was registered in April of this year, in comparison with the same period last year (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The creation of a shipping company to operate on the line between São Antão and São Vicente is being studied by the Association of Municipalities of Santo Antão (AMSA) and a private group (Inforpress).

The City hall of Ribeira Grande of Santo Antão will need 1.8 million Euros for the urban restoration of the historical centre of the village Ponta do Sol (Inforpress).

The insertion of Santo Antão’s grogue in the list of alcoholic beverages marketed in key international markets is part of the improvement programme for grogue of Santo Antao (Inforpress).

SAL

Traders in Sal are discontented with the proliferation of Chinese shops on the island, which as they said turned into grocery stores and shops selling wholesale and retail (Inforpress).

SAO NICOLAU

The studies for the location of the first dams in São Nicolau were presented in Vila da Ribeira Brava, by the technical team in charge of this work and whose leader is the engineer Mota Gomes (Inforpress).

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Ports, Real estate, Security, Stock exchange, Tourism, Travel on May 16, 2010 at 10:14 am

ECONOMY

Bank of Cape Verde governor Carlos Burgo has confirmed forecasts predicting a slight recovery for the nation’s economy, which is expected to grow between 4% and 5% this year, with a “significant” reduction of the risks predicted in initial forecasts. Burgo also forecasts growth in Cape Verde’s GDP and slight improvement in public revenues, but alerted to “existing risks and uncertainties” (A Semana).

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Cape Verde Thursday as part of the evaluation of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Portuguese travel agency Entremares is promoting its “Cape Verdean Triangle” program, which offers tourists three nights on the island of Sal, two nights on São Vicente and two nights on Santiago, with prices starting at 949 euros per person in double rooms (A Semana).

FINANCE

Sal will be the first municipality in Cape Verde to issue future bonds on the Stock Exchange to obtain financing. The Sal municipal assembly has approved the technical details of the public offer totaling 200 million escudos. Praia is likely to follow close on Sal’s heels, with a 450 million-escudo bond issue (A Semana).

PORTS

The scanners purchased by port management company Enapor from Chinese firm Nuctech to heighten shipping container traffic security at Praia, Mindelo and Palmeira sea ports are expected to be operational starting next month (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, May 9th

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Politics, Ports, Security on May 11, 2010 at 7:51 am

POLITICS

Orlanda Ferreira, a member of opposition party MpD’s National Directorship, has been chosen by the party leadership to take the position of the political force’s secretary general (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The Budget Support Group (BSG) considers that Cape Verde’s budget performance in 2009 was “positive overall”, especially regarding good governance, the group’s coordinator stated in Praia (Macauhub).

The Cape Verdean government has laid the first stone of the single power transmission plant on Santiago Island, where the capital of the archipelago, Praia, is located, a project that is expected to cost 44 million euros (Macauhub).

FOREIGN AFAIRS

The President of Guinea Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanhá, was in Praia Sunday morning, where he was welcomed by Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires. The two heads of state analyzed the political situation in Guinea Bissau, with Sanhá calling on solidarity from Cape Verdeans. Pires, for his part, called for the people of Guinea Bissau to remain united (A Semana).

The creation of a Cape Verdean embassy in Libya to help intensify relations between the two countries, particularly on the business level, was approved in this week’s meeting of the Council of Ministers. With its presence in Libya, Cape Verde hopes to defend the nation’s interests and further affirm its identity in the world (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Boa Vista witnessed the largest popular manifestation in its history Saturday morning, when a march with the theme “Peace, safety and integration” brought together more than 3,500 people. All of the island’s communities, both Cape Verdean and foreign, joined together to give a demonstration of hope and peace following the murder of a Guinea Bissauan citizen during the week (A Semana).

“Cape Verde needs to institute a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as soon as possible in order to combat money laundering in the country,” affirms the director general of the Inter Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) (A Semana).

Carlos Veiga, the leader of opposition party MpD, told journalists that what he called “taking hostage” of the São Vicente municipal chamber “was not legitimate,” although he affirmed that police authorities should carry out searches in public institutions when evidence of irregularities exists. The opposition leader also said he was convinced the police operation was “politically motivated” and has called on justice to function equally for all (A Semana).

REGIONAL

The “Santo Antão Tourism & Business Guide” is a platform for the promotion of the island’s business, commercial, industrial and agricultural fabric produced by the company GlobalMédia (A Semana).

Coculi and Chã de Igreja, on the island of Santo Antão, will see their status raised to that of town in July, according to guarantees given by the secretary general of the governing PAICV, Armindo Maurício, who also represents the municipality of Ribeira Grande de Santo Antão in parliament (A Semana).

The works of restoration and expansion of the port of Porto Novo will start on the date initially planned for this month, May, according to guarantees given to the owner of the works by the Portuguese – Cape Verdean consortium, which will implement the project (Inforpress).

The Ministry of Environment, Rural Development and Marine Resources wants to conduct studies and preparation up to 2012 for at least five hydrographical basins in Santo Antão (Inforpress).

BUSINESS

CVMultimédia has announced yet another reduction in broadband Internet service rates. The new rates went into effect on May 1, 2010 (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, April 11th

In Agriculture, Airports, Cape Verde, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Real estate, Security on April 11, 2010 at 7:53 pm

POLITICS

National Assembly speaker Aristides Lima received a petition this week from a group of approximately 160 citizens of European Union and other European countries expressing their concern with a series of phenomena and problems affecting their lives and their investments on the island of Boa Vista (A Semana).

ECONOMY

A lack of workers is making this year’s sugar cane harvest difficult on Santo Antão island and jeopardizing the deadlines of some of the public works under way in the northern portion of the island (A Semana).

In 2008 the Cape Verdean market had 3,689 Portuguese companies exporting goods and services, or 7.5 percent more than in 2003, the delegate of the Portuguese trade and investment promotion agency, AICEP said (Macauhub).

ENERGY

The Alentejo Regional Development Agency (ADRAL), a Portuguese-Cape Verdean consortium, is preparing a small-scale solar and wind energy generating project for the island of Fogo in partnership with the Portuguese town of Ferreira and the company Open Renewables (A Semana).

The blackout that left Praia without electricity also paralyzed the capital city’s international airport. The situation was chaotic, with those in the terminal in utter darkness, while passengers arriving on TACV flight 6070 from Portugal were retained inside the aircraft for more than 40 minutes (A Semana).

BUSINESS

Anglo-Dutch corporation Shell has announced that it is in the process of selling its 21 affiliates in Africa, including that in Cape Verde. According to website Visão News, the decision is aimed at eliminating less profitable business dealings and concentrating capital in large-scale projects liable to increase the company’s stock and distribution of petroleum and gas (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The Armed Forces (AF) will in May recruit for the first time 10 to 12 women to attend the first course of female corporals (Inforpress).

REAL ESTATE

The Tecnicil company, owner of the Vila Verde resort on Sal, will start a  sales campaign aimed at Cape Verdean families to buy flats in the resort (Inforpress).

Cape Verde news update, March 14th

In Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Investments, Politics, Security, Tourism on March 14, 2010 at 11:22 am

POLITICS

Nearly half of the residents of Praia (48%) believe current municipal chamber president Ulisses Correia e Silva to be a better mayor than his predecessor, Felisberto Vieira, according to an Afrosondagem survey carried out in December. The survey also found that 75% of Praia resident gave a positive evaluation of Correia e Silva’s work. Among individuals with a college education, the mayor’s approval rating stood at 39% (A Semana).

Minister of Infrastructures, Transportation and Telecommunications Manuel Inocêncio Sousa will participate will travel to Portuguese capital Lisbon for a dinner scheduled to take place on March 20 in support of his possible presidential bid (A Semana).

The United States State Department report on human rights for the year 2008 says that, in general, the Cape Verdean government “respected the human rights of its citizens.” However, problems were reported in areas such as “police abuse of detainees, police impunity, poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, excessive trial delays, violence and discrimination against women, child abuse, and some instances of child labor” (A Semana).

ECONOMY

Representatives from two Indian communication technology companies, NIIT and Angelic International Limited, are visiting Cape Verde as part of the implementation of a project financed by the Indian government to produce software and business incubators in the archipelago (A Semana).

Spanish company Ramon Vizcaíno has been selected to build a cold-storage infrastructure on the island of São Vicente (A Semana).

Prime Minister José Maria Veiga announced in Mindelo, at a meeting with ship-owners and fishermen’s associations, that there are eight million dollars from the World Bank,  1 million Euros of the Spanish cooperation and a million and 146 thousand dollars of FAO to boost the fishing sector (Inforpress).

Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil plans to increase its turnover six-fold in Cape Verde over the next three years from 20 million euros at the moment to 120 million, the group’s chief executive said in Praia (Macauhub).

The placement of a bond issue by Cape Verde’s Tecnicil tourism property company has surpassed expectations, the president of the island country’s stock exchange stated (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Stays in Cape Verde’s hotel establishments rose 10.6% in 2009. Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveals that most of the tourists came from the United Kingdom. English tourists were also those that spent the most time in the country. Sal continues the most visited island by foreign tourists (A Semana).

Cape Verde will make its presence felt between March 16 and 18 at Seatrade Miami, in the United States. Seatrade Miami is the world’s largest cruise-related trade fair (A Semana).

INFRASTRUCTURE

A tender has been launched to select the company that will carry out asphalting work on the São Domingos (Variante)-São Miguel road, according to Minister of Infrastructures, Transportation and Telecommunications Manuel Inocêncio Sousa (A Semana).

The government has unveiled the new and improved Cruz Grande-Calhetona road, an infrastructure that will facilitate travel between the municipalities of Santa Catarina and São Miguel, on the island of Santiago. The official ceremony was presided over by Prime Minister José Maria Neves (A Semana).

EDUCATION

The University of Santiago (US), headquartered in Assomada, made the public presentation of the first five postgraduate courses that will start in May (Inforpress).

Cape Verde news update, February 21st

In Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Politics, Security on February 21, 2010 at 10:36 am

POLITICS

Strengthening municipal authorities’ powers is the main objective of a proposal approved in the most recent Council of Ministers meeting. The government will submit a proposal to parliament to alter the legal regime regulating the organization and functioning of Cape Verde’s municipalities (A Semana).

Some 50 Europeans residing on the island of Boa Vista met this week to discuss the social situation and the problems affecting the European community on the island (A Semana).

The Prime Minister of Libya arrived February 19 in Cape Verde for a 24-hour visit. Baghdadi Mahmoudi’s trip is aimed at lending continuity to bilateral cooperation projects defined during the visit Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires made to Tripoli in June of 2009 (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

Brazil is helping Cape Verde to prepare its population census, the first one to be entirely electronic, to be carried out this year, the chairman of Brazil’s Geographical and Statistics Institute (IBGE) said in Brasilia (Macauhub).

ECONOMY

A reduction in public and private investment in Cape Verde, especially after 2011, alongside reduced foreign demand, is expected to slow the rate of economic growth in Cape Verde, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Macauhub).

Cape Verde has risen one slot on the 2010 edition of the Doing Business report, elaborated by an entity connected to the World Bank, and is currently 146th in the ranking. According to the report, it is still difficult to do business in Cape Verde, which remains near the bottom of the list that ranks countries in terms of the ease of doing business in them (A Semana).

The Minister of Labour, Vocational Training and Social Solidarity, Madalena Neves, announced the increase of the social minimum pension for five thousand escudos from July (Inforpress).

BANKING

Commercial bank BAI (Banco Africano de Investimentos) opened its first branch on the island of São Vicente, located next to the Ponte d’Água complex on the Mindelo seafront (A Semana).

Angola news update, January 31st

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Retail, Security, South Africa, Telecom, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 12:32 pm

ECONOMY

Two years ago, oil-rich Angola was reckoned to have one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In both 2006 and 2007 real GDP had surged by around 20%, and double-digit growth rates were widely predicted for at least the next five years. Then oil prices crashed with the global recession. Last year the economy is estimated to have grown, at best, by 1.5%. But it is bouncing back. Some say Angola will be among the world’s top five performers again this year, with growth exceeding 8%. Read the full story in The Economist.

Though Angola wants to woo foreign investors, everything seems contrived to deter all but the most intrepid and patient. Getting a visa, for a start, can take many months. Finding somewhere to stay in Luanda, a capital city built for 500,000 that is now home to 5m, is not much easier. A single hotel room, if you can find one, will set you back $500-600 a night. Read about the virtues you need for doing business in Angola in The Economist.

ATLANTICO

The political and economic rivalry between SA and Angola is expected to graduate into a battle for dominance in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) , says US-based global intelligence think-tank Stratfor (BusinessDay).

BANKING

Standard Bank sees Angola as key growth market. Warming relations between Angola and SA and the ties Africa’s biggest bank by assets has with China and Russia — rivals in attempts to secure access to Angolan resources — should help the new business, a senior executive said (BusinessDay). Africa’s biggest bank by assets plans to invest millions of dollars in Angola to set up a commercial and investment bank and offer retail banking services (News24).

BUSINESS

A new production line for soft drinking production will be operating from May this year at Sefa factory, that will increase the company’s production capacity from 3,000 to 10,500 cases per day (Angop).

PORTS

Lobito Port, in the central Benguela Province, will handle over  12,000 tons of load per year, its director told ANGOP.

OIL

Angola and India have signed a memorandum of  understanding in the oil sector, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, mainly in the entrepreneurial field (ANGOP).

AIR TRAVEL

Angolan airline Taag plans to carry 1.7 million passengers per year as of 2012 as compared to 1.1 million currently, the coordinator of the company’s management commission, Pimentel de Araújo said (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

The Angolan government approved 39 investment projects valued at a total of US$7 billion. In a statement released after a Council of Ministers meeting, the government said that the investments were focused on the retail, real estate, telecommunications, energy and transport sectors (Macauhub).

Portuguese group Unicer plans to invest US$120 million, US$85 million of which in the first phase, in construction of a beer factory in Angola’s Bengo province, the group’s representative in Angola, José Teixeira said in Luanda (Macauhub).

Brazilian group Odebrecht is analysing the possibility of investing in a petrochemical project in Angola, the group’s chief executive told Brazilian newspaper Estado de São Paulo (Macauhub).

The South Atlantic in 2010

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Security, South Africa, Surinam, Tourism on December 20, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Season’s greetings to all readers of Atlantico Weekly!

Atlantico Weekly is proud to present a short forecast for Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, South Africa and Surinam in 2010.

Read The South Atlantic in 2010

Brazil news update, December 20th

In Agriculture, Argentina, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Polls, Ports, Security, Tourism on December 20, 2009 at 7:28 pm

OIL & GAS

Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars more per year for imported Bolivian natural gas after a price dispute that has dragged on for years (Reuters).

Brazilian increases in oil production, along with Russia, is threatening the OPEC’s (Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries) control over oil prices. The current view of petroleum reserves may be deceptive as production, and most of all exportation, seem to be the determinant variable of the oil market equation (Rio Times).

Petrobras will get a 2.6 billion-real ($1.46 billion) loan from Brazil’s development bank, known as BNDES, to help finance construction of the Suape petrochemical complex (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

Brazil’s CSN offered to buy Portuguese cement producer Cimpor for 3.86 billion euros ($5.6 billion) as the steelmaker slowly diversifies from its core business outside its home base (Reuters).

Brazilian meat processor Marfrig Alimentos received European Union regulatory approval for its takeover of local poultry export company Seara in a deal worth about $900 million (Reuters).

Fiat’s commercial vehicles unit Iveco has won a $3.37 billion contract to supply 2,044 armoured personnel carriers to the Brazilian army, Iveco said (Reuters). The vehicles will be produced in Brazil.

Junior miner MMX, owned by Brazilian magnate Eike Batista, will invest up to $1.2 billion to more than triple iron ore production capacity by 2015, the company’s president said (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s central bank chief, Henrique Meirelles, said he was not interested in running for the vice-presidency in next October’s election and had not decided whether to step down in April (Reuters).

The governor of Brazil’s central Minas Gerais state said he would no longer seek to become the presidential candidate for the opposition PSDB party in next October’s election (Reuters).

Brazil’s president will propose a truth commission this month to investigate torture during the country’s 1964-85 military dictatorship. The move by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could mark a rare step by Brazil toward tackling the thorny question of dictatorship-era abuses (Reuters).

FINANCE

As Brazil emerges stronger than many other countries from the deepest global recession in decades, the time may have come for the largest private equity firms to plant roots in Latin America’s biggest economy (Reuters).

Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, is in talks to buy a stake in Argentina’s Banco Patagonia in what would be the state-run bank’s biggest international foray (Reuters).

SECURITY

One minute Victor Javier was rapt in a carefree game of beach soccer; the next he was a hapless victim of Rio de Janeiro’s “shock of order” crackdown. Rio state this month hired former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who takes credit for cleaning up the Big Apple, to help advise it on the Brazilian city’s crime problems (Reuters).

ECONOMY

After months of bullish forecasts from analysts in Brazil and around the world, the economic recovery has proven to have progressed at a significantly slower rate than has been anticipated over the last financial quarter (Rio Times).

The Brazilian government has announced that the bidding process for the construction and operation of a high-speed rail line that will link Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Campinas is to begin (Rio Times).

Chile and Brazil form part of 10- country group called ‘advanced emerging markets,’ Barclays Plc said. Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Israel, China, South Africa, Poland and the Czech Republic are also part of the group, Barclays analysts including Eduardo Levy-Yeyati wrote in a report (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, December 20th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Politics, Ports, Security, Telecom, Travel on December 20, 2009 at 4:59 pm

SECURITY

The border service at Sal’s Amílcar Cabral International Airport has started carrying out consultations using the new PASSE border control system, the same day the system was officially unveiled by Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes and by Portugal’s State Secretary of Internal Administration, Dalila Araújo (A Semana).

ECONOMY

Between 2005 and 2007, Cape Verde grew at an annual average of 8.4%, according to data to be presented tomorrow, December 16, by the National Statistics Institute INE) (A Semana).

United States congressman Barney Frank congratulated the directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for its historic decision to make Cape Verde the first country eligible for a second Millennium Challenge Account compact in Washington, D.C. The MCC’s chief executive officer responded with praise for Cape Verde (A Semana).

The National Assembly approved a bill reducing customs tariffs for construction and pavements materials, aircraft parts, telecommunications, electricity, sound and photographic equipment and accessories, and a number of other articles. The bill was approved 51 favorable votes – 39 from the PAICV, 11 from the MpD and one from the UCID – and two abstentions (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente has been authorized to receive international flights by the Civil Aeronautics Agency. The airport  received its first international cargo flight, a Boeing 737 sent by Portuguese airline TAP that will bring equipment for the airline’s international operations on the island (A Semana).

PORTS

The first phase in the expansion and modernization of Vale dos Cavaleiros sea port in São Filipe, Fogo, will be unveiled this week. The 140 million-escudo project was executed by construction company Armando Cunha (A Semana).

ENERGY

The government of Cape Verde and two foreign companies, Vestel and Infraco signed a contract for construction of four wind farms, aimed at providing 25 percent of the electricity consumed on the archipelago (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, December 6th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Politics, Ports, Security, Tourism, Travel on December 6, 2009 at 3:46 pm

AIRPORTS & TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente received a test flight of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ Boeing 757-200 at 2:20 pm December 4. This is one of the final tests in the audit being carried out by the Civil Aeronautics Agency (AAC) prior to allowing the airport to open for international flights (A Semana).

The financial directorships of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines and Airport and Air Security company ASA reached an accord on the night of Monday, November 30, to overcome the impasse regarding the payment of the flagship airline’s debt to the airport management company, estimated at more than 1.3 billion escudos. TACV has promised to pay more than 10 million escudos per month to ASA (A Semana).

PORTS

The process of privatisation of Cape Verde’s port services is due to be concluded in June, 2010, the manager of the Programme for Regulation and Privatisations in Cape Verde said in Praia. The ports of Praia and Mindelo are due to be handed over to two concession-holders, whilst the port of Palmeira will have just one concession (Macauhub).

HEALTH

Cape Verde’s Minister of Health, Basílio Mosso Ramos, announced that Cape Verde had registered 272 new cases of AIDS in 2008, indicating a stabilization in the number of new infections in the archipelago. Cape Verde’s seroprevalance is 0.8% (A Semana).

POLITICS

The president of opposition party MpD, Carlos Veiga, will be a special guest at the congress of the European People’s Party (PPE) in Bonn, Germany between December 8 and 10. The party is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, of which the MpD is also a part. The meeting’s host will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel (A Semana).

FINANCE

Eight microfinance institutions undergo training in the realm of data base normalization. The course, which is being supported by the Millennium Challenge Account – Cape Verde, is aimed at raising the entities’ capacities in order for them to be able to normalize their data bases, thus making it easier for them to migrate to a new system in the future. The course will be administered by a consultant from Planet Finance – Brazil, Ricardo Linder, and will take place at the National Administration and Management Institute (INAG) (A Semana).

SECURITY

After several months of relative calm, thieves have once again begun attacking tourists on the beaches of Boa Vista. Local police have registered robberies victimizing tourists on the beaches of Estoril, Chaves and Cabo de Santa Maria (A Semana).

Angola news update, November 15th

In Airports, Angola, Brazil, Investments, Oil, Security, South Africa, Travel on November 15, 2009 at 11:17 pm

INVESTMENT

Portugal’s retail-heavy conglomerate Sonae plans to expand to Angola and open its Continente hypermarkets in the southwest African country, Diario Economico newspaper said (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras said it found oil in deep waters off Angola. The oil, in the Cabaca Norte-1 well, around 350 kilometers (219 miles) north of Luanda, is the second discovery within the 15/06 bloc in which Petrobras has a 5 percent stake (Reuters).

Petrobras is interested in exploring for oil in “deep and ultra-deep” waters off the coast of Angola, the Brazilian Trade and Industry Minister said (Bloomberg).

The chairman of Portuguese oil group Galp Energia said in Lisbon that production has seen a ”strong drive” with the start of production at the Tômbua-Lândana oil field, at which the company expects production of 90,000 barrels of oil per day in 2010 (Macauhub).

SECURITY

Armed Angolan gangs are targeting Chinese workers in “mafia-style” attacks, a construction boss said, creating a climate of fear among the Chinese community in Luanda Read the full story in the Mail & Guardian.

AIR TRAVEL

Angolan national airline Taag launched a direct flight between Luanda and Cape Town, with flights twice a week, Angolan news agency Angop reported (Macauhub).

Angola news update, November 1st

In Angola, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Oil, Security on November 1, 2009 at 10:04 pm

BUSINESS

South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd is likely to win a $300 million order from Angolan state-owned oil firm Sonangol for five tankers, online news outlet eDaily reported (Reuters).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Angola on Wednesday called the conviction of the son of the late French President Francois Mitterrand and others over illegal arms sales to the African country as unjust, biased and politically motivated (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Angola’s council of ministers approved the oil producing nation’s 2010 budget that increases spending to 3.9 trillion kwanzas ($45.8 billion) from 2.6 trillion in the previous year, according to a government statement (Reuters).

OIL

Chevron’s crude oil production in Angola will rise by a quarter in the next two years and it expects new discoveries to boost the country’s oil production further, Ali Moshiri, Chevron’s president for Africa and Latin America said (Reuters).

The Angolan State-owned oil firm Sonangol and ENI Angola announced  the discovery of a new oil well of Cabaça Norte-1, Block 15/06 in deep waters of the country’s offshore, 350 kilometres to the north of the capital city (ANGOP).

Angola’s Oil Minister, José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, said in Recife, Pernambuco state (Brazil), that soon new oil concessions would be auctioned and granted for exploration (Macauhub).

BANKING

Banco Espírito Santo Angola (BESA) will have new Angolan shareholders before the end of this year, the bank’s chairman, Álvaro Sobrinho said (Macauhub).

ETHANOL

Brazilian group Odebrecht in 2010 plans to launch production of sugar and ethanol in Angola, said Humberto Rangel, Odebrecht Angola’s communications director said in Luanda (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, November 1st

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Real estate, Sao Tome and Principe, Security, Tourism, Travel on November 1, 2009 at 9:51 pm

TOURISM & REAL ESTATE

Prime Minister José Maria Neves presided over the opening of the Public-Private Forum on Residential Tourism on October 30. The forum, whose theme is Residential Tourism – An opportunity for the future of Cape Verde, is being promoted by Promitur and is held at Jotamont Music Academy in Mindelo. The event is intended as a way to share impressions and ideas by both the private and public sectors and the various stakeholders in the residential real-estate and tourism market in the country (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

US air company Delta Airlines will begin flying to the island of Sal in the first quarter of 2010, after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gave a positive evaluation to the island’s Amílcar Cabral International Airport. Delta Airlines is expected to carry out two weekly flights between Atlanta, Georgia and the island of Sal in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Dutch charter company ArkFly starts operating flights from Amsterdam to Sal and Boavista later this month, with stops at Las Palmas.

Angolan flagcarrier TAAG has started weekly flights between the capitals of Luanda and Praia as of last week.

HOTELS

The Morabeza Hotel on the island of Sal has been named Cape Verde’s “Leading Hotel,” a classification given by World Travel Awards (A Semana).

SECURITY

The driver of the ambassador of France in Cape Verde, Fernando Delgado Fortes, was killed in the city of Praia with five shots at a close range, two of them in the head (Visaonews).

ECONOMY

According to figures collated between September 2008 and April of this year, Cape Verde in 2007 had 7,512 companies, as compared to 5,460 in 2002, which is a rise of 38 percent. Most companies are active on the islands of Santiago (3,233 companies), Sao Vicente (1,531), Sal (775) and Santo Antao (522) (Macauhub).

Stability and security and the level of civic participation and respect for human rights distinguish Portuguese speaking African countries, particularly Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, from their continental counterparts (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, October 25th

In Biofuels, Brazil, Elections, Investments, Oil, Politics, Security on October 25, 2009 at 10:47 pm

LAW ENFORCEMENT

In just a few weeks, the image of the Brazilian city has lurched from scenes of joyful revelers on Copacabana beach soaking up the victorious bid to host the 2016 Olympics to ones of a city embroiled in a bloody war with itself (Reuters).

OIL

Petrobras launched $4 billion of 2020 and 2040 global bonds in what may be the largest-ever sale of corporate debt by a Brazilian company, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

ETHANOL

Brazil sugar-ethanol sector is emerging from crisis. The sector, which took on huge debts in recent years to expand, was hammered by the credit crunch that ensued from the global financial crisis and drove many heavily leveraged mills into rivals’ hands (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s chosen candidate for next year’s presidential election has won the support of one Brazil’s largest political parties, giving her bid a much-needed boost. Dilma Rousseff ia now assured of the backing by both her own PT as well as the PMDB, which will select her running mate (Reuters).

POLITICS

Jewish leaders criticized Brazil’s plans to receive Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad next month and urged the South American nation to condemn his denial of the Holocaust and “support of international terrorism.” (Reuters)

INVESTMENT

Brazil’s government wants to improve its investment climate by passing several bills in Congress before President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s term ends late next year, a senior political advisor told Reuters.

RIO

Rio de Janeiro state officials will meet with executives from China Development Bank Corp. to seek financing for infrastructure investments tied to the 2016 Olympics, said Joaquim Levy, the state’s finance secretary (Bloomberg).

Drugs and violence in Rio

In Brazil, Security on October 25, 2009 at 10:25 pm

ALL of Brazil’s big cities have a vigorous market in illegal drugs. If surveys of drug use are to be believed, consumption of cocaine, crack and cannabis per head in Rio de Janeiro is near the median when compared with other state capitals. So why is the city that has just won the 2016 Olympics so prone to paroxysms of drug violence, as seen on the weekend of October 17th-18th, in which about 25 people were killed (including three policemen), ten buses were set on fire and a police helicopter was shot down?

Read the full story in The Economist

Cape Verde news update, October 25th

In Agriculture, Airports, Brazil, Cape Verde, Foreign Trade, Security on October 25, 2009 at 9:59 pm

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Supreme Court of Justice has granted a request submitted by Manuel Corsino Barbosa’s lawyer and ordered him released, but has prohibited the drug trafficking suspect from leaving Cape Verdean territory. The Supreme Court of Justice dispatch, dated Monday, October 19, also claims that there is no strong evidence indicating that the suspect collaborated with Zany Filomeno’s criminal organization, which was involved in drug trafficking and money laundering (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

Brazilian President Luís Inácio “Lula” da Silva has accepted the invitation extended to him this week by Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves to make an official visit to Cape Verde next year. Lula is expected to visit the archipelago in the first half of 2010 (A Semana).

POLITICS

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities José Brito has announced that the government of Luxembourg is going to maintain its € 51 million financing program for Cape Verde for the third Indicative Cooperation Plan, which will cover the period between 2011 and 2015. In a press conference, Brito also announced that relations between the two countries could evolve to include business partnerships in the coming years (A Semana).

AIRPORTS

Sao Vicente airport in Cape Verde is expected to receive international flights before the end of this year, Cape Verde’s prime minister said, noting there had been delays in approval of the runway, which was initially expected in June (Macauhub).

IMPORTS

Cape Verde importa 80 percent of the food it consumes, has just 10 percent of its land apt for agricultural production and its climate conditions are a permenent threat to agriculture, according to a United Nations (UN) study (Macauhub).

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