Friday, April 29, 2016

Daily Headlines: April 29, 2016


* Colombia: Colombia became the fourth Latin American state to legalize same-sex marriage following a series of recent rulings by the country’s Constitutional Court.

* Peru: Polls have placed Keiko Fujimori back as the favorite in June’s presidential race even though she faces stiff competition from rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, controversy over the authorities rule of her ex-president father and a new spat with her congressman brother.

* Mexico: A Mexican general received the stiffest punishment against a senior military official after a court sentenced him to 52.5 years in prison for torture.

* Cuba: The Cuban government ruled out eliminating a ban on defectors from playing with the national baseball team despite improving ties between the island and the U.S.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English
 

Online Sources – Deutsche Welle, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, ABC News

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Daily Headlines: April 28, 2016


* Venezuela: A study released this week found that Venezuela, which is undergoing an energy crisis, is the country most vulnerable to the low price of crude oil.

* Cuba: The recent increase in the number of Cuban migrants entering the U.S. could lead to a reform of the Cuban Adjustment Act even though White House officials have denied the possibility of enacting changes.

* Mexico:We want to stay alive” was the theme of a protests held days ago in the State of Mexico to repudiate femicides and violence against women.

* Latin America: The economy for Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to contract for a second straight year in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour (Video uploaded in March 2016).
 

Online Sources – GlobalPost, CNBC, Politico, The Guardian, Vox

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Daily Headlines: April 27, 2016


* Mexico: A few thousand people including some family members of 43 missing Ayotzinapa university students marched in Mexico City yesterday to question the government’s shaky investigation into the case.

* Peru: Peruvian officials will expand a law allowing the military to shoot down civilian planes suspected of drug smuggling to include boats and backpackers.

* Argentina: State-run YPF will export crude oil next month for the first time since 2013 as part of a plan to boost production amid low oil prices.

* U.S.: A new study concluded that the number of Latino children was undercounted in the last Census and this has caused a lack of federal funds to be destined to some communities in need.

YouTube Source – El Universal

Online Sources – Reuters, NBC News, Bloomberg, Voice of America

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Daily Headlines: April 26, 2016


* Costa Rica: Some 600 migrants from Africa will be deported back to their respective countries of origin even though Costa Rican immigration officials admitted that such an action would be expensive.

* Colombia: A new report from a Colombian NGO found that paramilitaries continues to exist and are behind criminal actions including “drug-trafficking, smuggling, (and) illegal mining.”

* El Salvador: The Salvadoran Legislative Assembly approved a series of measures to combat gang violence such as labeling the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 as "terrorist groups.”

* Venezuela: The Venezuelan Supreme Court halted opposition-led efforts to cut President Nicolás Maduro’s term short by two years.

YouTube Source – africanews (“Costa Rican authorities (earlier this month) deported some 250 African migrants of different nationalities to Panama”.)

Online Sources – BBC News, InSightCrime, The Tico Times, Colombia Reports

Monday, April 25, 2016

Daily Headlines: April 25, 2016


* Puerto Rico: A bipartisan bill to help restructure Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt continues to be stuck in the U.S. Congress even though a lack of legislative action prior to a May 1st payment deadline would compound the commonwealth’s already dire economic crisis.

* Argentina: On a related note, the Argentine government last Friday paid $9.3 billion to bondholders who were owed over the country’s $100 billion debt default in 2002.

* U.S.: Puerto Rican pugilist McWilliams Arroyo was able to last the distance with Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez but the Nicaraguan boxer easily retained his flyweight title and a perfect 44-0 record.

* Honduras: The daughter of murdered environmentalist Berta Cáceres called on European financial interests to halt funding several Honduran hydroelectric projects.

YouTube Source – Last Week Tonight

Online Sources – Bloomberg, Financial Express, ESPN, The Guardian