Daily Headlines: April 22, 2016

* South America: Nine teams from Brazil and Argentina advanced to the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores bracket led by top seeds Atletico Nacional from Colombia and Mexico’s UNAM.

* Latin America: Soybean prices have dipped as a result of floods damaging the crop in Argentina, while Chile’s El Teniente copper mine restarted operations following days of heavy rainfall.

* Guatemala: The shooting death of a thirteen-year-old Guatemalan boy has led to increased tensions between the Central American country and neighboring Belize.
 
* Mexico: President Enrique Peña Nieto presented to Mexico’s Congress a plan to decriminalize the use of marijuana for personal use up to 28 grams and legalize medical marijuana.

YouTube Source – Football Mania (Defending Copa Libertadores titleholders River Plate of Argentina join eight former championship teams to the last sixteen of this year’s edition of the tournament).

Online Sources – Goal.com, Bloomberg, Reuters, Vice News, GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: April 21, 2016 (Updated)

* Latin America: The presidents of Mexico and Colombia each called out for reforming global antidrug efforts at the U.N. Drug Policy Summit though they face opposition from other leaders more satisfied with the status quo.

Update: Bolivian President Evo Morales also criticized the contemporary "war on drugs" efforts and urged states to take an approach that "respects human rights and national sovereignty."
 

respects human rights and national sovereignty

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: 
 "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivias-Evo-Morales-Denounces-War-on-Drugs-at-UN-Summit-20160421-0027.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

respects human rights and national sovereignty

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: 
 "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivias-Evo-Morales-Denounces-War-on-Drugs-at-UN-Summit-20160421-0027.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

* El Salvador: Salvadoran authorities unveiled a new special unit containing “600 army commandos and 400 specially trained elite police officers” aimed at combating rampant gang violence.

* Puerto Rico: Time is not on Puerto Rico’s side as the U.S. Congress continues to delay discussion on a plan to help restructure a $70 billion debt.

* Mexico: At least thirteen people died and 130 are injured following an explosion at a Pemex facility located in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

YouTube Source – The National

Online Sources including Update – Reuters, The Guardian, NBC News, Voice of America, Fox News Latino, teleSUR English

Daily Headlines: April 20, 2016

* Ecuador: At least 400 aftershocks have hit Ecuador since a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake Saturday night including a 6.1-magnitude tremor in the predawn hours today.

* Peru: Polls have shown Keiko Fujimori, who easily won the first round of Peru’s presidential election, has a slight advantage over Pedro Pablo Kuczynski ahead of the June 5th runoff.

* Chile: Patricio Aylwin, the former Chilean president who was key in the transition following the infamous military regime led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, died at the age of 97.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino blamed the U.S. for failed oil talks in Doha last weekend and warned that negotiations must resume soon in order to avoid a collapse in crude prices.

YouTube Source – France 24 English

Online Sources – Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC News, The Latin Americanist, euronews

Daily Headlines: April 19, 2016

* U.S.: The 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Lin-Manuel Miranda in recognition of the popular, critically-acclaimed Broadway musical “Hamilton.”

* Latin America: A new report detailed how the Hacking Team cyber security firm allegedly sold spyware and other tools used by authorities in several Latin American states for surveillance against critics and political opponents.

* Colombia: The Colombian government plans to resume using glyphosate to eradicate coca plants even though the World Health Organization classified it last year as a carcinogen.

* Cuba: Carnival reversed its decision to bar Cuban-Americans from traveling on its upcoming cruises to Cuba though it remains to be seen if they will be accepted back on to the island by immigration officials.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour
 
Online Sources – Buzzfeed News, ABC News, The Atlantic, Boing Boing

Daily Headlines: April 18, 2016

* Latin America: Ecuadoran officials claimed the death toll from a 7.8-magniude earthquake on Saturday night that was the country’s worst tremor since 1979 rose to 350 fatalities.

* Brazil: Financial markets in Brazil opened today with gains after the House of Deputies easily approved sending the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff to the Senate.

* Chile: Some 4 million people Santiago is without drinking water and parts of in central Chile are flooded following periods of “unusually” heavy rainfall.

* Venezuela: Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro announced that clocks would be turned ahead by 30 minutes to help ease the country's energy crisis.

YouTube Source – euronews
 
Online Sources – CNBC, Reuters, NBC News, Bloomberg