The English-language forum for all things Latin American, covering business, politics, and culture.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Daily Headlines: October 18, 2012
* Chile: The Supreme Court allegedly approved the extradition an ex-U.S. Navy Captain accused of the 1973 deaths of journalist Charles Horman and student Frank Teruggi,
* Cuba: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro congratulated a Cuban medical clinic in his first public statement in almost four months.
* Brazil: 104-year-old architect Oscar Niemeyer, renown for his designs of several futuristic buildings in Brasilia, was hospitalized and is reportedly in stable condition.
* Argentina: The Senate passed a bill supported by President Cristina Fernandez to lower the age of voting from 18 to 16.
Video Source – YouTube via user Antoniopost (Clip from “Missing,” a 1981 film on the 1973 disappearance of U.S. journalist Charles Horman during the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet).
Online Sources- Huston Chronicle, Businessweek, Huffington Post, euronews
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Daily Headlines: October 17, 2012
Note: Unfortunately there have been fewer posts than normal published on this blog over the past few weeks and today will be no exception. We’ll be back tomorrow to discuss a number of stories from the Americas.
* Cuba: The Castro administration relaxed several decades-long travel restrictions including eliminating the need for citizens to obtain an exit visa.
* Colombia: Highly anticipated peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC guerillas are expected to commence today in Oslo, Norway.
* Peru: Disgraced former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos was acquitted of murder charges related to the 1997 rescue of 71 hostages at the Japanese embassy in Lima.
* Mexico: The family of a Mexican teen shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents last week allegedly plan to file a civil lawsuit against the agency.
Video Source – YouTube via the Associated Press
Online Sources- Reuters, Al Jazeera English, Chicago Tribune, CNN
* Cuba: The Castro administration relaxed several decades-long travel restrictions including eliminating the need for citizens to obtain an exit visa.
* Colombia: Highly anticipated peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC guerillas are expected to commence today in Oslo, Norway.
* Peru: Disgraced former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos was acquitted of murder charges related to the 1997 rescue of 71 hostages at the Japanese embassy in Lima.
* Mexico: The family of a Mexican teen shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents last week allegedly plan to file a civil lawsuit against the agency.
Video Source – YouTube via the Associated Press
Online Sources- Reuters, Al Jazeera English, Chicago Tribune, CNN
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Today’s Video: An Ounce of Prevention…
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day was held on October 15th for the tenth consecutive year.
This year’s theme was “Hispanics United to End AIDS,” which reflects the impact of the illness on the Latino community in the U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Latinos accounted for 20% of new HIV infections in 2009, the most recent year the data was available. Furthermore, the CDC believes that at least 18,000 Latinos with AIDS have died in the U.S. since the epidemic began States and its dependent areas. In 2009, nearly 3,300 Hispanic/Latino individuals with AIDS died.
“HIV continues to pose a serious health threat to Latino communities in the United States. If we hope to end the United States epidemic, we must stem the spread of HIV among Latinos—the nation’s fastest growing ethnic population,” said Donna McCree, associate director for health equity at the CDC, according to VOXXI. “Each of us has a role to play,” she added.
According to the CDC gay and bisexual men are most affected by HIV among the Latino population, accounting for 64% of the 9400 new HIV infections among Latinos in 2009. Another group with disproportionate numbers of HIV infections are African-American and Latino youth in urban areas, a phenomena that is explored in the following film via YouTube user tchalko:
This year’s theme was “Hispanics United to End AIDS,” which reflects the impact of the illness on the Latino community in the U.S.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Latinos accounted for 20% of new HIV infections in 2009, the most recent year the data was available. Furthermore, the CDC believes that at least 18,000 Latinos with AIDS have died in the U.S. since the epidemic began States and its dependent areas. In 2009, nearly 3,300 Hispanic/Latino individuals with AIDS died.
“HIV continues to pose a serious health threat to Latino communities in the United States. If we hope to end the United States epidemic, we must stem the spread of HIV among Latinos—the nation’s fastest growing ethnic population,” said Donna McCree, associate director for health equity at the CDC, according to VOXXI. “Each of us has a role to play,” she added.
According to the CDC gay and bisexual men are most affected by HIV among the Latino population, accounting for 64% of the 9400 new HIV infections among Latinos in 2009. Another group with disproportionate numbers of HIV infections are African-American and Latino youth in urban areas, a phenomena that is explored in the following film via YouTube user tchalko:
Daily Headlines: October 16, 2012
* Argentina: A court sentenced three former navy officers to life in prison for their roles in the killing of sixteen political prisoners in the 1972 Massacre of Trelew.
* Mexico: More than 120 people were arrested after police raided three colleges in Michoacán that had been occupied for over a week by student protesters.
* Haiti: Musician Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti charity closed due to massive debt and allegations of possible fraud.
* Panama: Is President Ricardo Martinelli‘s suggestion to adopt the euro as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar a good idea?
Video Source – YouTube via antifaztrailers
Online Sources- ABC News, BBC News, euronews, The A.V. Club
Monday, October 15, 2012
Daily Headlines: October 15, 2012
* Brazil: Over 1000 police raided a pair of favelas in Rio de Janeiro that are reportedly notorious for crime and drug-related violence.
* Haiti: Several hundred protesters marched in Port-au-Prince and called on President Michel Martelly to resign.
* Cuba: The Ladies in White dissident group marched in Havana yesterday on the one-year anniversary of the death of former leader Laura Pollan.
* U.S.: The U.S. Treasury Department officially designated the El Salvador-based MS-13 street gang as a “transnational criminal organization.”
Video Source – YouTube via AFP
Online Sources- IOL news, LAHT, The Telegraph, Christian Science Monitor