Daily Headlines: August 17, 2012

* Dominican Republic: Newly inaugurated president Danilo Medina vowed that he would enact policies aimed at lowering illiteracy rates and helping the millions of residents mired in poverty.

* Brazil: Attorneys for Chevron filed an appeal seeking to overturn a ban against operating in Brazil due to an offshore oil spill last year.

* Peru: According to the Peruvian military five troops were killed during a battle with Shining Path rebels.

* Cuba: Police reportedly detained three dissidents yesterday who were said to have been handing out leaflets critical of the government.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR English

Online Sources- BBC News, ABC News, Reuters, Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: August 16, 2012

Note: Due to our coverage of Ecuador's approval of Julian Assange's asylum today's "Daily Headlines" are being published later than usual. We apologize for the delay.

* U.S.: Venezuelan-born pitcher Felix Hernandez threw the 23rd perfect game in Major League history and the first ever for the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

* Latin America: According to the World Bank the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow by 3.7%-3.8% this year, which is less than 2011 but higher than was initially estimated.
* Brazil: “Human rights and environmental protection cannot be subordinated to narrow business interests,” said a Brazilian judge who ordered construction to be suspended on the Belo Monte dam project.

* Colombia: A group of former General Motors workers in Colombia have entered the third week of a hunger strike that includes sewing their lips shut.

Video Source – YouTube via ESPN

Online Sources- SI.com, The Guardian, Reuters, New York Daily News

Ecuador Approves Assange Asylum Request (Updated)

The Ecuadorian government this morning backed the asylum request by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who has been residing over the past eight weeks in the South American country's embassy in London, England:


At a press conference in Quito, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino noted several reasons influencing the decision. One of them included fears of "retaliation" against Assange due to his role in the divulging of sensitive government documents via Wikileaks. Patino also argued that Assange would "not receive a fair trial" should he be extradited to the U.S. where he could face a military trial.

Patino reiterated his ire yesterday over allegations that British authorities would "assault our embassy" in order to detain Assange.

The British government has threatened with revoking the diplomatic status of the Ecuadorian embassy in London in order to permit Assange to be extradited to Sweden. (The Australian-born Assange faces questioning in Sweden for alleged sexual misconduct.)

According to several news reports London police have arrested three people outside of the embassy where supporters of the Wikileaks founder have gathered.

More on this story after the page break.

Daily Headlines: August 15, 2012

* Venezuela: According to the head of the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory prison violence has increased since “the policies the government has implemented and all the work that has been done has not focused on protecting the lives of inmates.”

* Ecuador: The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry denied recent news reports alleging that the South American country will provide asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

* Argentina: The Argentine government is expected to approve this week the use of new genetically modified soybean seeds.

* Panama: The much-awaited Panama Canal expansion could be delayed by six months and add an extra $523 million to the $5.25 billion project.

Video Source – YouTube via brianandrewsntn24 (Video uploaded in January 2012).

Online Sources- TVNZ, Huffington Post, Reuters, Tico Times

Daily Headlines: August 14, 2012

* El Salvador: This week marks the fifth month of a truce between the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs that has reportedly led to a sharp decline in homicides.

* U.S.: Security workers at Logan International Airport in Boston engage in racial profiling of numerous groups including “Hispanics traveling to Miami” according to the New York Times.

* Argentina: Workers of the Buenos Aires metro announced a temporary halt to a ten-day strike that pitted the capital city’s mayor against Argentine President Cristina Kirchner.

* Cuba: Former President Fidel Castro apparently did not make a public appearance on the occasion of his 86th birthday yesterday.

Video Source – YouTube via AFP (Video posted in June 2012).

Online Sources- New York Times, France 24, Huffington Post, Time

Daily Headlines: August 13, 2012

* Honduras: The U.S. government will withhold part of its funding to Honduran law enforcement due to human rights concerns regarding the Central American country’s police chief.

* Venezuela: Does President Hugo Chavez really have “proof” that rival Henrique Capriles belonged in his youth to a neo-Nazi group or is he slandering his opponent of Jewish background?

* U.S.: The MundoFox television network, owned by News Corporation and Colombia’s RCN, was officially launched this morning.

* Mexico: The country’s Navy reportedly captured a man linked to a drug gang and suspected of being involved in the May murders of four journalists.

Video Source – YouTube via videosproceso (Honduran police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla, seen here after being named to the post last May, may be linked to death squads that operated roughly a decade ago.)

Online Sources- Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald