Daily Headlines: June 12, 2015

* U.S.: Chicano author and activist Juan Felipe Herrera was named as the first Latino writer to serve as the U.S. poet laureate.

* Chile: Second half goals by Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas were enough for Copa America host nation Chile to beat Ecuador 2-0 in the tournament’s inaugural match.

* Argentina: British Prime Minister David Cameron and Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner engaged this week in a war of words over energy firms seeking resources near the disputed Falklands.

* Venezuela: Jailed ex-San Cristobal mayor Daniel Ceballos ended his twenty day hunger strike that he went through in order to urge for the liberation of imprisoned political dissidents.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour

Online Sources – NPR, Goal.com, Bloomberg, Reuters

Daily Headlines: June 11, 2015

* Brazil: Family of Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian national shot and killed in 2005 by London police officers searching for suspected suicide bombers, have taken their legal challenge to the European Court of Human Rights.

* Paraguay: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended the Paraguayan government take the necessary steps to protect the life of a ten-year-old pregnant and sexually abused girl barred from undergoing an abortion.

* Nicaragua: Scientists reviewing early drafts of the environmental assessment report to Nicaragua’s planned interoceanic canal deemed the study as “insufficient given the magnitude of the proposed projects associated with...construction.”

* Latin America: The five member states of Latin America’s Mercosur alliance are divided over whether the bloc should push for a trade pact with the European Union.

YouTube Source – Andy Smart

Online Sources – The Globe and Mail, The Latin Americanist, International Business Times, MercoPress, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: June 10, 2015

* Cuba: Critically acclaimed Cuban journalist and author Leonardo Padura was named as this year’s winner of the prestigious Princess of Asturias Award for Literature.

* Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff presented a $64 billion infrastructure renewal plan that she surely hopes will boost Brazil’s sagging economy and turn around her decreasing approval rating.

* Venezuela: Ex-Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez left Venezuela yesterday after authorities denied him the opportunity to visit his clients: imprisoned political dissidents Leopoldo Lopez and Daniel Ceballos.

* Chile: The Chilean government passed a law aimed at curbing hooliganism and racism against fans attending the Copa America soccer tournament that begins this Thursday.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Newser, BBC News, Reuters, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: June 9, 2015

* Mexico: The results of the Mexican local elections on Sunday included a victory for the country’s first independent governor but also a win for the status quo with the ruling coalition keeping their House majority.

* Nicaragua: Why is the suicide rate for Nicaraguans ages 15 to 24 nearly double the average for Latin America?

* Colombia: Authorities accused the FARC rebels of forcing 200,000 gallons of crude oil to be dumped in the Amazon jungle province of Putumayo.

* U.S.: A new Pew Research Center found that 56% of Latinos back same sex marriage versus 38% who are opposed to it.

YouTube Source – Channel 4 News (Mexico’s local elections on June 7th were marred by escalated violence, protests against the political process and negative campaigning between candidates).
 
Online Sources – USA TODAY, NBC News, Colombia Reports

Daily Headlines: June 8, 2015

* U.S.: Victor Espinoza, the Mexican jockey who helped break a 37-year long Triple Crown drought, said that he will donate his entire Belmont Stakes earnings to the City of Hope cancer research center.

* Argentina: A U.S. judge ruled that the Argentine government must pay an additional $5.4 billion on top of the $1.3 billion already owed to hundreds of creditors.

* Venezuela: An offshore oil find could reignite diplomatic tensions between neighboring countries Guyana and Venezuela.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro García Padilla proposed partial privatizing the Puerto Rican Electric Energy Authority in order to help pay for the firm’s $9 billion in debts.

YouTube Source – The New York Racing Association, Inc.

Online Sources – ABC News, Reuters, Jamaica Observer, Fox News Latino