Daily Headlines: July 11, 2014

* Cuba: Cuban lawyer Ernesto Vera claimed that he worked for the state security agency and pretended to be an opposition activist in order to “discredit the dissidents.”

* Uruguay: Luis Suárez may be serving a harsh suspension for biting an Italian player at a World Cup match but that hasn’t stopped the Uruguayan from reportedly being transferred from to F.C. Barcelona as part of a $129 million deal.
  
* Latin America: A new U.N. report found that Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil are in the top five of the world’s most populated cities though their ranking is expected to fall by 2030.

* Chile: President Michelle Bachelet of Chile criticized landlocked Bolivia’s appeal to the International Court of Justice seeking access to the sea.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube (Ernesto Vera alleged that he infiltrated the Ladies in White protest movement, seen here during a 2010 march, as part of his work as a Cuban state security agent).
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latino; Bernama; The Latin Americanist; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: July 24, 2013

* Argentina: Gerardo "Tata" Martino will officially be named as the new coach of the famed Barcelona soccer team weeks after guiding Argentine side Newell's Old Boys to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores.

* U.S.: The Univision TV network will surpass its English-language counterparts to top the Nielson ratings in two key age groups for the month of July.

* South America: Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro met with Colombian leader Juan Manuel Santos and pledged to continue supporting peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC guerillas.
 
* Mexico: A U.S. federal judge threw out a lawsuit against ex-Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo that accused him of crimes against humanity related to the 1997 Acteal massacre.

Video Source – YouTube via user sntv

Online Sources- The Guardian; USA TODAY; Huffington Post; Reuters

Daily Headlines: June 4, 2013

* Mexico: An unidentified government official told the Associated Press that there has been no surveillance video showing the disappearance of eleven young people missing from a Mexico City bar since May 26th.

* Latin America: Representatives of Argentina and Costa Rica, two of the countries co-sponsoring the Arms Trade Treaty, were among the sixty-six signatories yesterday to the historic international weapons pact.

* Spain: Over 50,000 Barcelona supporters gathered at the Nou Camp to welcome Brazil’s Neymar to the storied soccer club.

* U.S.: Seven members of an extended family from Guatemala died as a result of storms that tore through Mississippi over the weekend.

Video Source – YouTube via CNN

Online Sources- NBC News; Deutsche Welle; SI.com; WCVB

Daily Headlines: January 23, 2013 (We’re Back!)

* Guatemala: Pre-trial hearings began in a case against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt who has been accused of genocide related to his brief rule in the midst of Guatemala’s bloody civil war.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan officials and Bolivian President Evo Morales have provided optimistic assessments of President Hugo Chavez who has not been seen publicly since undergoing cancer surgery about six weeks ago.

Update: Is the photo in this article a recent picture of a recuperating Hugo Chavez walking with his brother in Cuba or is it an image originally taken in 2011?   

* Mexico: The dean of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government defended the appointment of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon to a teaching fellowship despite opposition from several anti-violence activists.

* Colombia: Pop music star Shakira gave birth to her first child, Milan Piqué Mebarak, at a hospital in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
 
Video Source – YouTube via user povborders (Excerpt from “Granito”, a 2011 documentary that focused on the efforts to gather evidence against former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt.)

Online Sources including Update- Semana.com, Huffington Post, NPR, Fox News Latino, USA TODAY

Today’s Video: Barca and Messi conquer Europe

The must-watch individual battle in yesterday’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United was between super strikers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo had several solid chances for the Red Devils at the very beginning of the match yet it was Barca who got on the board first with a Samuel Eto’o goal in the tenth minute. From then on in, it was the Spanish side which had complete control of the game especially via the solid midfield troika of Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta.

The coup de grace was a well-placed header by Messi in the second half; a fitting reward for the great Argentine striker and for a team that managed a historic treble:

Link:

Online Sources- The Offside, New York Times, SI.com, BBC Sport

Daily Headlines: May 4, 2009

* U.S.: Will the White House flip-flop and revive the military commission system to try Guantanamo detainees?

* Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega has come under fire from the opposition for the “intolerant and immoral state-party-family confusion that in exercising power he promotes against Nicaragua’s weakened democracy and its institutions.”

* Ecuador: Now it’s official - Rafael Correa won last week’s presidential election in Ecuador.

* Argentina: Lionel Messi scored two goals and provided an assist in Saturday’s historic 6-2 thrashing by Barcelona over bitter rivals Real Madrid.

Image- AFP (“A US flag flies at Camp Justice” located on Guantanamo Bay.)
Online Sources- Guardian UK, BBC News, The Latin Americanist, LAHT, New York Times