Daily Headlines: October 25, 2016

* Bolivia: A new scientific report found that glaciers in Bolivia have shrunk by 43% from 1986 to 2014 and “glacier recession is leaving lakes that could burst and wash away villages or infrastructure downstream.”

* Brazil: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer agreed to pay $205 million and officially claim responsibility in order to settle numerous corruption investigations in Brazil and the United States.

* Haiti: According to the United Nations heavy rainfall over the last few days has impeded the distribution of food and medicinal aid to areas of Haiti devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

* United States: An “unprecedented” number of Latinos have reportedly cast their ballots in early voting in Florida but is this a sign of a large Latino turnout on Election Day in two weeks time?

YouTube Source – Deutsche Welle (Video uploaded in 2010).

Online Sources – Science Daily, Xinhua, The Atlantic, Bloomberg

Report: LatAm Military Spending Keeps Increasing

Despite denials from regional leaders in recent years, a new report found that Latin America continues to be engaged in an arms race that includes increased military spending in the region.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) report found that military spending in the region grew by 15% in recent years from $61.3 billion in 2010 to $70.9 billion in 2013.

Though the study noted that roughly half of that increase came in a period of “high inflation and strong appreciation of currencies in the region” in 2010 and 2011, military spending in the region increased by over 3% last year.  Venezuela (12%), Colombia (11.6%) and Bolivia (8%) were the Latin American countries that increased their most in spending on the military in 2013 while Mexico and Central America boosted their defense funds by over 6% last year.

The IISS identified Brazil as Latin America’s top military spender in 2013 though their defense budget of $34.7 billion would only account for roughly 5.7% of the $600.4 billion spent on defense in the U.S. last year.

Ironically, Brazil was one of the few Latin American countries where military spending decreased in 2013 with a 1.1% drop.  (The sharpest decline was in Uruguay that spent 4.1% less in defense last year compared to 2012).

Weekend Headlines: December 31, 2011 – January 1, 2012

* Chile: Officials announced the arrest of a tourist suspected of starting a wildfire that has consumed at least 27,000 acres of forest land in the Torres del Paine National Park.

* Latin America: The Venezuelan and Bolivian governments offered to remove for free defective breast implants made by a now-defunct French firm.

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala told a local radio station that he “can't help but show my annoyance” at a judge who allowed paroled activist Lori Berenson to return to the U.S. during the holidays.

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa pledged to extend the deadline for protecting the Yasuni rainforest reserve from oil companies.

* Brazil: Brazilian firm Embraer won a U.S. defense contract that would allow it to sell twenty fighter jets for use by the Air Force in Afghanistan.

* South America: The 2012 Dakar Rally will begin on Sunday in Mar de Plata, Argentina and will be held during fifteen days in that country along with Chile and Peru.

Video Source – YouTube via cnnchile

Online Sources- CNN, ABC News, Expatica France, NPR, Reuters, TSN

Daily Headlines: March 25, 2009

* Ecuador: The Ecuadorian air force worked out a deal where they would receive 24 Super Tucano combat planes from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer.

* Dominican Republic: A Canadian father-and-son business has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme in the Dominican Republic that has cost investors over $100 million.

* Colombia: A labor union spokesman claimed that operations in Colombia by mining firm Drummond “are paralyzed” due to a strike demanding better safety conditions.

* Honduras: A Floridian women was convicted of illegally selling weapons to Honduran drug gangs.

Image- Danger Room
Online Sources- Guardian UK, LAHT, Sun-Sentinel.com, Latin Business Chronicle

Daily Headlines: February 20, 2009

* Canada: U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked about free trade and the slumping economy but not Gitmo detainees during Obama’s state visit north of the border.

* Argentina: Weeks after an Argentine seminary removed Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson the country’s government yesterday ordered him to return to Britain.

* U.S.: Is the Chamber of Commerce behind an ad campaign against Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis?

* Brazil: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer will lay off over 4000 employees due to the global economic decline.

Image- AP (“Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shakes hands with President Barack Obama during a photo opportunity on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday Feb. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld).”)
Online Sources- Reuters, washingtonpost.com, Mother Jones, BBC News, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist