Daily Headlines: May 3, 2016 (Updated)

* Mexico: Some 40% of drivers in Mexico City are barred from using their vehicles today after smog levels of the already polluted air of the metropolis spiked yesterday.

* Brazil: A 72-hour ban on the use of WhatsApp in Brazil affecting some 100 million users has reportedly led to a surge in registration for rival messaging app Telegram.

Update: A Brazilian appellate judge on Tuesday lifted the restrictions against using WhatsApp. 

* U.S.: Broadway musical “Hamilton”, created by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, received a record sixteen Tony Award nominations.

* Cuba: For the first time in decades a U.S. cruise ship docked in Havana though not without controversy over a former ban on Cubans barred from returning to the island by sea.
YouTube Source – DW (English) (Video uploaded on July 2014).

Online Sources including Update – ABC News, USA TODAY, Quartz, CBS News, Ars Technica

Daily Headlines: April 25, 2016

* Puerto Rico: A bipartisan bill to help restructure Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt continues to be stuck in the U.S. Congress even though a lack of legislative action prior to a May 1st payment deadline would compound the commonwealth’s already dire economic crisis.

* Argentina: On a related note, the Argentine government last Friday paid $9.3 billion to bondholders who were owed over the country’s $100 billion debt default in 2002.

* U.S.: Puerto Rican pugilist McWilliams Arroyo was able to last the distance with Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez but the Nicaraguan boxer easily retained his flyweight title and a perfect 44-0 record.

* Honduras: The daughter of murdered environmentalist Berta Cáceres called on European financial interests to halt funding several Honduran hydroelectric projects.

YouTube Source – Last Week Tonight

Online Sources – Bloomberg, Financial Express, ESPN, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: April 19, 2016

* U.S.: The 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Lin-Manuel Miranda in recognition of the popular, critically-acclaimed Broadway musical “Hamilton.”

* Latin America: A new report detailed how the Hacking Team cyber security firm allegedly sold spyware and other tools used by authorities in several Latin American states for surveillance against critics and political opponents.

* Colombia: The Colombian government plans to resume using glyphosate to eradicate coca plants even though the World Health Organization classified it last year as a carcinogen.

* Cuba: Carnival reversed its decision to bar Cuban-Americans from traveling on its upcoming cruises to Cuba though it remains to be seen if they will be accepted back on to the island by immigration officials.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour
 
Online Sources – Buzzfeed News, ABC News, The Atlantic, Boing Boing

Daily Headlines: March 16, 2016

* Argentina: The lower chamber of the Argentine federal legislature approved a package to repay creditors in a legal tug-of-war with the government over some $100 billion in debt related to the country’s 2001 default.

* U.S.: Will recently retired presidential hopeful Marco Rubio provide a boost to fellow Cuban-American Senator Ted Cruz in his aspirations for the White House?

* Puerto Rico: Acclaimed Broadway composer Lin-Manuel Miranda urged Congress to take urgent action to help debt-ridden Puerto Rico though legislators have largely waffled on the issue.

* Mexico: The governor of the Mexican state of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo, suggested enacting a “pilot scheme” to allow the cultivation of opium poppies as a measure to combat drug violence.

YouTube Source – euronews (Last month “Argentina has agreed in principle to a deal with US hedge funds ending a 15-year-old dispute over its failure to repay billions of dollars worth of bonds.”)
 
Online Sources – Reuters, BBC News, Vox, The Huffington Post

Today’s Video: “In the (Washington) Heights”

Earlier today we mentioned how “In the Heights” won four Tony Awards including honors as best musical. The musical’s creator- Lin Manuel Miranda- was inspired by his surroundings in the upper Manhattan to create a theater piece which may soon go on a nationwide tour.

The following video is an excerpt from a Tony Awards special where Miranda tours around the Latino enclaves in Washington Heights and also discusses the impact the musical has had on the community.

Sources- Playbill.com, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

“In the Heights” honored at Tonys

A hip-hop musical inspired by Latino life in New York City neighborhood earned four Tony Awards last night. “In the Heights” had been nominated for 13 awards and in the end was given nods as the year’s top musical along with best original score for the theater, best choreography and best orchestrations.

The musical struggled off-Broadway and took a big gamble to be produced on the Great White Way against “heavily marketed mega-musicals”. Yet the risk paid off as “In the Heights” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted several honors:

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for "In the Heights," rapped his way through his acceptance speech for best score, saying: "I know I wrote a little show about home. Mr. Sondheim, look, I made a hat. (a reference to a lyric in Sondheim's 'Sunday in the Park with George') But there never was a hat — it's a Latin hat at that!"

Also recognized at the Tonys was Brazilian opera star and Broadway newcomer Paulo Szot; he received best musical leading actor for his role in the revival of “South Pacific”.

Sources- courant.com, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Guardian UK, BBC News, Bloomberg,

Image-New York Times