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WORLD NEWSSaturday 15 August 2015
CARIBBEAN 11-year-old gives birth to girl in Paraguay
Puerto Rico govt PEDRO SERVIN the infant. officials. Paraguay bans health statistics. Many peo-
workers charged Associated Press Hospital director Mario Vil- abortion except when a ple have called for stiffer
in $3M tax fraud ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) lalba told reporters outside mother’s life is in danger. penalties for abusers and
— An 11-year-old girl who the hospital that the birth At the time, the girl was five the funding of education
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) was denied an abortion af- took about 35 minutes. She months pregnant and local programs to help parents
— Puerto Rico’s Justice De- ter being raped gave birth said the girl would remain in health officials said she ap- and authorities better spot
partment said Friday that it Thursday, the culmination the hospital for three or four peared to be in fine health. signs of abuse.
would charge five govern- of a case that put a spot- days, “like any other patient In a statement Thursday, Norma Benitez, spokes-
ment employees in a $3 light on child rape in this who has had a cesarean.” Amnesty International said woman for the Latin Ameri-
million fraud scheme that can Women’s Commission,
involved taxpayer money. A 13-year-old girl holds her one-month-old baby at a shelter for troubled children in Ciudad said her group would now
A Puerto Rican couple that push the government to
owned a local construction del Este, Paraguay. The girl said she was raped by her stepfather from the time she was 10 and provide a safe environment
and remodeling firm also for the girl that includes
will be charged in the two- became pregnant when she was 12. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz) both her mother and
year operation, according grandmother.
to Justice Secretary Cesar poor South American na- She said the minor was cur- it was glad the girl came “The Paraguayan state
Miranda. The suspects are tion and drew criticism from rently accompanied by her through the birth all right, must fulfil its role of protect-
accused of bypassing a human rights groups. grandmother, but declined but said the fact that “she ing children by providing a
bidding process and falsify- Elizabeth Torales, a lawyer to give more details. did not die does not ex- home and a dignified life”
ing documents to remodel for the girl’s mother, told The girl was allegedly cuse the human rights vio- for this family, she said.
offices at Puerto Rico’s sea- The Associated Press that raped and impregnated lations she suffered at the The Roman Catholic
side Capitol building, with the minor gave birth to a by her stepfather when she hands of the Paraguayan Church has wide influence
one suspect charging three baby girl via cesarean in a was 10. The stepfather has authorities.” While the in the country and was at
different times for the same Red Cross hospital in Asun- been arrested and is await- case did spark some dis- the forefront of calls not to
job, Miranda said. Miran- cion, Paraguay’s capital. ing trial. The girl’s mother cussion about abortion in allow an abortion. Mariano
da said the money came She said reported there has been charged with deeply socially conserva- Mercado, spokesman for
in part from Puerto Rico’s were no complications and negligence. The mother tive Paraguay, the focus the Paraguayan Episcopal
Government Development both the mother and baby requested an abortion for of several protests was on Conference, reaffirmed the
Bank, which has seen its li- were resting. her daughter, but the gov- better protecting children church’s position Thursday
quidity shrink amid an eco- “The baby doesn’t yet ernment refused to allow from abuse. About 600 but didn’t talk about the
nomic crisis. Authorities said have a name,” said Torales, it, drawing praise from re- girls age 14 or under be- girl’s case.
government auditors un- who added that her client ligious groups but criticism come pregnant each year “Human life is sacred and
covered the scheme, which and the girl’s grandmother from many human rights or- in this country of 6.8 million should be respected and
ran from 2010 to 2012.q had requested custody of ganizations, including U.N. people, according to local protected from the mo-
ment of conception until
US: Guantanamo death,” he said.
legal offices are Carlos Gilizzola, a physician
no health threat who holds a seat in the Sen-
ate, said he that for four
HAVANA (AP) — Legal of- years he has been pushing
fices on the U.S. base at legislation to increase sex
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, education funding.
have been deemed safe “The majority of Christian
for human occupancy churches, led by the Cath-
amid concerns about a olic Church, campaigned
possible cancer cluster, the in 2012 to make sure the
Navy said Friday. A pre- bill wasn’t even taken up in
liminary assessment of the committee,” he said.
buildings used by the Of- In July, Pope Francis spent
fice of Military Commissions three days in Paraguay. He
found no apparent dan- met with officials, toured a
ger following a review of slum outside Asuncion and
medical records, historical celebrated two Masses.q
documentation and other
data, the Navy said in a Dominican Republic resumes deportation patrols
statement. A final report is
expected by the end of the SANTO DOMINGO, Domini- gram that has drawn inter- they are living legally in the Dominican officials are cre-
month. A report to the Pen- can Republic (AP) — Do- national criticism. Dominican Republic. ating a humanitarian crisis.
tagon expressed concern minican authorities on Fri- Bernardo Jimenez, direc- Authorities have said nearly Relations between the two
that about a half a dozen day resumed patrols to de- tor of the government’s 289,000 people enrolled in countries have grown in-
people who have worked tain and deport migrants, immigrant detention cen- the program out of an esti- creasingly strained since a
extensively in the buildings the majority of them Hai- ter, said only six Haitians mated 524,000 migrants liv- Dominican court ruled in
in recent years have devel- tians, who lack documents had been detained as of ing in the Caribbean coun- September 2013 that chil-
oped some form of cancer, after a more than yearlong Friday. Four of them were try that shares the island of dren born in the country to
with at least one death. The hiatus. released after proving they Hispaniola with Haiti. Mi- non-citizens did not qualify
buildings on a former airfield The move came weeks af- had enrolled in the immi- gration officials say more for automatic citizenship
are used mostly by lawyers ter the government ended gration program, he said. than 66,000 people have because their migrant par-
and support staff involved a one-year period for mi- Officials stressed that for- moved to neighboring Hai- ents were “in transit.” Most
in proceedings against pris- grants to apply for legal eigners must carry docu- ti. Haiti’s government has of those affected have
oners facing trial by military residency under a pro- ments at all times to prove warned that the actions by been Haitians.q
commission.q
