Daily Headlines: July 21, 2016

* South America: The Copa Libertadores title is up for grabs and will be decided in Medellin next Wednesday as Independiente del Valle of Ecuador and Colombia’s Atletico Nacional tied 1-1 in the first leg of the finals.

* United States: A federal appeals court ruled that that the voter ID restrictions in Texas violated the federal Voting Rights Act by discriminating against the poor and minorities like Latinos.

* Mexico: Pedro Rosas Tamayo, a Mexican journalist who received death threats and was purportedly under police protection, was shot and killed at his home in Veracruz.

* Puerto Rico: Several hedge funds who are bondholders of Puerto Rico’s multi-billion dollar debt filed a lawsuit against the Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and the government of the commonwealth.

YouTube Source – Fox Deportes

Online Sources – SBS, Fox News Latino, teleSUR English, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: July 20, 2016 (Updated)

* Peru: President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski rejected the possibility of pardoning Alberto Fujimori, the former leader imprisoned over crimes against humanity and embezzlement during his decade in power.

* Brazil: Does an group of Brazilian extremists with alleged ties to the Islamic State really exist or is it instead “the work of an ISIS social media activist”?

Update (07/21/16): Brazilian police arrested ten extremists though authorities underlined that the suspects never traveled to meet with anyone connected to ISIS or detailed any specific targets of attack.    

* U.S.: A quick poll of Latino registered voters taken after the first night of the Republican National Convention found that nearly four out of five respondents have an unfavorable view of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

* Latin America: Jose Miguel Insulza, the former Organization of American States chief and Chile's representative before the International Court of Justice, blasted the foreign minister of Bolivia for visiting Chile.

YouTube Source – Associated Press (From April 2009: “A special tribunal convicted former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori of murder and kidnapping on Tuesday and sentenced him to 25 years in prison for death squad activities during his autocratic 10-year rule.”)

Online Sources including Update – Xinhua, NBC News, Fox News Latino, ABC News, CBS News

Daily Headlines: July 19, 2016

* Guatemala: Byron Lima, a former military officer convicted of assassinating outspoken Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi, was killed by a few of his fellow inmates during a prison riot.

* Peru: An arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Peruvian state in its environmental damages case against Renco Group.

* Argentina: On the twenty-second anniversary of the AMIA center bombing, family members of some of the 85 dead called for justice and stronger government support for the investigation into the attack.

* Mexico: President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled a series of measures to combat corruption and also publicly apologized for allegations of wrongdoing linked to the purchase of a luxury home by his wife, Angelica Rivera.

YouTube Source – AP Archive (Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop Juan Jose Gerardi was a strong human rights defender who was murdered in 1998 after he published a report on abuses by the army during the country’s civil war).

Online Sources – UPI, MercoPress, BBC News, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: July 18, 2016

* U.S.: A new poll indicates an overwhelming majority of residents in the U.S.-Mexico border region are opposed to building a wall between both countries and also support a path to U.S. citizenship for undocumented Mexican immigrants.

* Colombia: Jarlinson Pantano of Colombia won his first Tour de France stage on Sunday, while his compatriot and race contender Nairo Quintana’s expected attack this week may not be enough to dethrone Chris Froome from winning his second straight Tour.

* Cuba: The U.S. Congress is gradually easing its opposition to normalizing ties with Cuba despite staunch opposition from Cuban-American legislators.

* Venezuela: At least 100,000 people took advantage of a brief reopening of the Venezuelan border with Colombia mainly to buy basic goods and medicine.

YouTube Source – Wall Street Journal (From February 2016: “Building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico would be full of daunting challenges, from environmental regulations to private property laws. But that hasn't stopped politicians from pledging to do it”)
 
Online Sources – Dallas Morning News, BBC Sport, Sky Sports, The Hill, Macon Telegraph