Daily Headlines: July 19, 2013

* Brazil: The Brazilian government blasted FIFA President Sepp Blatter for suggesting that due to mass protests last month the country may have been the wrong choice to host the 2014 World Cup.

* Puerto Rico: The U.S. Justice Department and Puerto Rico officials signed a $10 million agreement aimed at reforming the commonwealth’s beleaguered police agency.

* Peru: Eight men were reportedly killed by members of the native Ashaninka community in the Amazon rainforest region of Peru.

* Chile: Michelle Bachelet’s possible return to the Chilean presidency may have just gotten easier after her main campaign rival unexpectedly dropped out of the race.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Businessweek; The Lain Americanist; Fox News Latino; Times of India; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: July 17, 2013

* Cuba: The Cuban government admitted that military equipment found on a North Korean-flagged ship seized by Panamanian authorities belonged to them but the weapons were “obsolete” and were being sent for repair.

* Latin America: Brazil’s foreign minister claimed that the Mercosur trading bloc would rely less on foreign technology in light of recent allegations of U.S. government surveillance in Latin America.

* Argentina: U.S.-based Chevron signed a $1.24 billion deal to develop the world’s second-largest shale gas deposit and fourth-largest shale oil reservoir.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos deemed as “a great step towards peace” his meeting yesterday with thirty members of an ELN guerilla unit who gave up their arms.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- LAHT; Bloomberg; USA TODAY; Xinhua; The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: July 16, 2013

* Chile: A Chilean appeals court ruled that construction work on the Pascua-Lama gold mine must be halted and the site’s owners, Canadian firm Barrick Gold, has to repair environmental damage to two rivers.

* Bolivia: The Spanish government formally apologized for an incident weeks ago where the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced to land in Austria.

* Panama: President Ricardo Martinelli claimed that Panamanian authorities seized a North Korean-flagged ship traveling from Cuba with a shipment of arms and other “undeclared military cargo.”

* U.S.: Cuban-born baseball player Yoenis Cespedes captured the All-Star Home Run Derby crown with thirty-two homers including nine in the final round.

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources- CBC; Reuters; the Latin Americanist; ABC News; NPR

Daily Headlines: July 15, 2013

Note: Posting will be very light on Monday and Tuesday.  As a result, we hope to provide additional posts starting on Wednesday and including this weekend.  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
 
* Chile: Chile has become the latest epicenter for the abortion debate in Latin America due to the case of an eleven-year-old girl who became pregnant after her stepfather raped her.

* U.S.: Three former Target employees filed a lawsuit against the company alleging racial discrimination such as the writing of memos with stereotypes on “Cubans (political refugees, legal status, higher educational levels) … Mexicans (lower educational level, some may be undocumented.)”

* Guatemala: Authorities arrested four men suspected of raiding a police station last month and killing eight officers.

* Peru: A team of archeologists discovered the mummified remains of a woman believed to have been sacrificed some twelve to thirteen centuries ago.

Video Source – YouTube via user NewsyWorld

Online Sources- BusinessWeek; CNN; SBS; BBC News