Daily Headlines: July 25, 2014

* Mexico: Thousands of peasants and indigenous Mexicans marched in a protest against energy reforms that critics claim would lead to greater economic inequality and environmental damage to farmland.

* Central America: “If we don’t talk about the underlying causes, crises will continue to occur,” said Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina who proposed a greater emphasis on combating the drug trade and boosting economic growth in order to stem the influx of Central American migrants to the U.S.

* Colombia: A U.S. appeals court dismissed all lawsuits against Chiquita that were related to the deaths of Colombian banana plantation workers and activists by right-wing paramilitaries hired by the company.

* Cuba: Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and a prominent gay rights activist on the island, denied rumors that she died in a plane crash yesterday in Mali.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube

Online Sources – LAHT; Businessweek; Reuters; CBS News

Cubans May Seek A Free Sex-Change

If you are seeking a sex-change, Cuba just might be your place to go! Under the country's universal health care system, sex-changes are being performed for free. Mariela Castro, the daughter of President Raul Castro and therefore niece of Fidel, runs the National Center for Sex Education in Cuba. The sexologist and gay-rights advocate successfully fought to have sex-change operations accessible to Cuban citizens, all free of charge, as part of the wave of new policies implemented by Raul Castro after assuming leadership. Mariela has been a voice for the LGBT community and has worked to educate on issues of HIV/AIDS. She has also been a major contributor to the discussion of homosexuals being barred from the Communist Party, and is working to fight the issue.

A number of sex change operations have been performed since 2008, but the issue is controversial to some because of the high cost of the operation for a struggling developing country. Because of financial constraints, operations are only available to Cuban citizens, not foreigners/tourists.

Online Sources: The Washington Post, Canada.com

Online Image: Despertando a Lilith

Daily Headlines: March 28, 2008

* Bolivian president Evo Morales apparently wants to help his country’s World Cup aspirations by joining a second-division soccer team.

* Mariela Castro- daughter of the Cuban president- has been active in promoting gay and transsexual rights on the island, according to BBC News.

* Did a British reality TV crew start a flu epidemic that killed four Peruvian natives?

* The chairman of budget airline firm JetBlue said that he will launch a new Brazilian airline next year.

Sources- Associated Press, BBC News, Guardian UK, MSNBC

Image- Foreign Policy Passport