Daily Headlines: December 17, 2012

* Venezuela: Defeated opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles was reelected as Merida state governor though the ruling Socialist Party won twenty of twenty-three states.

* Cuba: Will the Cuban government expand its radio and television ban on reggaeton to other genres of music?

* Brazil: Corinthians of Brazil beat England’s Chelsea 1-0 in World Club Cup final and, thus, became the first from South America team to win the competition since 2006.

* Argentina: The International Monetary Fund could expel Argentina from the organization after failing to meet an inflation deadline.

Daily Headlines: December 12, 2012

* U.S.: Childhood obesity may be in decline in some parts of the U.S. but a report from the United Health Foundation found an increase in diabetes and obesity rates among Latino youth.

* Uruguay: The lower house of Congress overwhelmingly passed the Marriage Equality Law, a proposal that would legalize same-sex marriage.

* Brazil: Copa Libertadores winners Corinthians of Brazil advanced to the final of the Club World Cup where they’ll face European champions Chelsea of England or CONCACAF titleholders Monterrey of Mexico.

* Latin America: The economy of Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to grow at a strong 3.8% in 2013 according to U.N. estimates.

Video Source – YouTube via user besmartbewell

Online Sources- NBC Latino, Huffington Post, Salon, SI.com, Businessweek

Inter shocked in Club World Cup

It was four months ago that Brazilian soccer team Inter was on a high after having captured their second Copa Libertadores crown in five years. Earlier today, however, the Porto Alegre side was anything but jubilant after being shocked in the Club World Cup (CWC).

Inter became the first South American side not to reach the CWC title match after losing to African club champions TP Mazembe. Inter dominated the early stages of the match yet they missed several key chances partly due to the inspired play by goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba. In the second half the team from the Democratic Republic of Congo broke the game in their favor with strikes by Mulota Kabangu and Dioko Kaluyituka. Despite several great opportunities by Rafael Sobis and Giuliano Inter ended up on the short side of a 2-0 defeat.

Despite such an upset Inter coach Celso Roth was gracious in defeat:

"We created opportunities but unfortunately we couldn't turn them into goals. Mazembe had the opportunities and scored," Roth said. "Football is like this. Mazembe defended very well and I congratulate them. We played much better than them but we have this very bitter defeat."


In the CWC quarterfinals Mazembe won over Mexico’s Pachuca by a 1-0 score. Hence, Pachuca will play the fifth-place match against Al-Wahda of the United Arab Emirates while Inter awaits the loser of the other semifinal between South Korea’s Seongnam Ilhwa and Inter of Milan.

Image- CBC (“TP Mazembe Englebert's Stopilla Sunzu, right, is challenged by Francisco Torres of Club de Futbol Pachuca during the African champion's 1-0 win on Friday.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, The Telegraph, CBC