Daily Headlines: February 24, 2012

* Latin America: According to Mexican and British researchers a severe drought led to the demise of the Mayan civilization over one thousand years ago.

* Argentina: The blame game into the cause of Wednesday’s train crash that killed fifty people continued with allegations of government corruption and malfeasance by the heads of the private firm that runs the Buenos Aires passenger rail network.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez is expected to arrive in Cuba today in order to undergo an operation for a new lesion in the same area where a cancerous tumor was removed last year.

* El Salvador: Ex-defense minister Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova may soon be deported from the U.S. to his native El Salvador where he awaits trial for alleged “war-related crimes.”

Image Source – Flickr via Mike_fleming (Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza in southern Mexico). (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- BBC News, IOL, The Latin Americanist, CNN, UPI

Daily Headlines: May 9, 2011

* Ecuador: Preliminary results showed that referendum voters approved ten measures backed by President Rafael Correa including a path to reforming the judiciary, limits on media ownership, and a ban on bullfighting.

* Mexico: Tens of thousands of people gathered at Mexico City's Zocalo Square yesterday in the culmination of a four-day march against drug-related violence.

* Cuba: Dissidents blamed police for the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto, a political activist who died several days after being arrested and allegedly beaten.

* Venezuela: A U.S. immigration judge suspended the deportation order against a Venezuelan national in a legally-recognized same-sex marriage weeks after another justice came to a similar decision in favor of an Argentine woman.

* Guatemala: A voter registration drive will be run ahead of September’s federal elections and will include radio ads and electoral materials in four Mayan languages.

* U.S.: Animal Kingdom, sired by Brazilian horse Leroidesanimaux and ridden by Puerto Rican Jockey John Velazquez, won the prestigious Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Image – Raul Arboleda/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images via The New York Times (“An Ecuadorean woman, with her child, cast her vote Saturday at a school in Otavalo, Ecuador, on the referendum proposed by President Rafael Correa. It included sweeping measures aimed at strengthening his power.”)
Online Sources- The Irish Times, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist, insidecostarica.com, Reuters, CNN, Boston Globe

Daily Headlines: February 23, 2010

* Cuba: Migration talks between the U.S. and Cuba hit a snag after U.S. diplomats met with Cuban dissidents.

* Latin America: Happy New Year to Mayans celebrating the year 5126 under their calendar!

* Chile: Billionaire president-elect Sebastian Pinera is expected to add $498 million to his personal fortune by selling his stake in LAN Chile.

* Brazil: The “beautiful game” was anything but on Sunday when a fan of Brazilian soccer team Palmeiras was killed after a match.

Image – PRESS TV
Online Sources- Vancouver Sun, CNN, Xinhua, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: January 28, 2010

* U.S.: One year and one day ago we wondered if “Ugly Betty” would soon be cancelled. 366 days later we received the unfortunate answer.

* El Salvador: The Salvadoran government lodged a formal complaint against Mexico related to the death of three migrants.

* Cuba: Should the Obama administration put a stop to TV and Radio Marti broadcasts to Cuba?

* Latin America: Mexican archeologists found an 1100-year-old tomb in Guatemala that could reveal important details on Mayan culture.

Image – News.com.au
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, ABC News, Washington Post, Javno, MSNBC

Mel Gibson loses his cool at Central American studies prof

Actor Mel Gibson lost his temper against an alleged “heckler” during a screening of his film “Apocalypto.” During a question and answer session, Gibson told assistant professor Alicia Estrada to “f*ck off” after she accused him of racially stereotyping Mayan culture in “Apocalypto.”

Estrada requested that Gibson apologize not only to her but “the Mayan community and members of the Mayan community,” though Gibson’s publicist labeled her as “rude and disruptive inasmuch as the event organizers had to escort her out.” (This naturally gives him the privilege to drop the F-bomb on her. Oy vey!)

Gibson has not been a stranger to controversy whether it be over “The Passion of the Christ” or drunk misogynist outbursts at comely policewomen.

Links- Daily Breeze, BBC News, UPI, CBS News, CNN, Hollywood Gossip

Image- TMZ.com (Photo of Mel Gibson as he was supposedly arguing with Alicia Estrada)