Daily Headlines: July 29, 2010

* Ecuador: UNESCO removed the Galapagos Islands from its list of endangered sites after citing “strong action” by the Ecuadorian government to fix environmental problems.

* Puerto Rico: Several hundred supporters of “independence militant” Carlos Alberto Torres celebrated his release on parole after spending thirty years in prison.

* Paraguay: Police gunned down one of country’s most wanted fugitives - Paraguayan People's Army leader Severiano Martinez.

* Colombia: The State Department reversed its previous decision and will grant Colombian journalist Hollman Morris a visa to come to the U.S.

Image – The Telegraph (“Marine iguanas are unique to the Galapagos.”)
Online Sources- Boston Globe, LAHT, MSNBC, Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: July 9, 2010

* Haiti: Roughly six months since a gigantic earthquake destroyed parts of Haiti aid groups warned that they’re being stretched to their limits and “simply containing a critical situation, rather than solving it.”

* Colombia: Why did the State Department deny a visa to a muckraking Colombian journalist critical of outgoing President Alvaro Uribe?

* Bolivia: A major wildfire has threatened the flora and fauna of Bolivia’s massive Pantanal wetlands.

* Panama: Former strongman Manuel Noriega was sentenced to seven years in prison for money laundering by a French court.

Image – CBC
Online Sources- AFP, BBC News, MSNBC, CNN

Journalist speaks out vs. union threats in Colombia

Journalist and documentarian Hollman Morris has spoken out against the abuses on labor union members in Colombia. Morris- who fled Colombia in October after receiving serious death threats- voiced his concern while the Canadian government continues the latest round of free trade negotiations with the South American country:

"I don't think they told (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) that more trade unionists are killed in Colombia than in any other country in the world," said Morris, who was to meet with officials at the Foreign Affairs Department later Friday.

"What this shows is a blind support. ... I'm not sure whether the Canadian public would accept this from Prime Minister Harper, or whether the Parliament would accept his memory loss."

Morris is currently in Canada on a speaking tour sponsored by Human Rights Watch (HRW). As we mentioned earlier this week, HRW criticized the harassment of union members in Colombia.

Image- IFEX

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Canadian Press, International Herald Tribune