Daily Headlines: January 31, 2014

* Central America: Presidential elections are set to take place this Sunday in El Salvador and Costa Rica yet recent polls indicated that a runoff is likely in both countries.

* Argentina: In the latest sign of Argentina’s financial woes, the government reported yesterday that the countries foreign reserves fell by $2.1 billion in January alone.

* U.S.: A new poll found that most Latinos believe diabetes as the most serious health risk to their families even though cancer is the primary killer of Latinos. 

* Panama: Authorities in Panama released thirty-two members of a ship bound for North Korea that was intercepted last July with a hidden cargo of Cuban weapons.

Video Source – teleSUR via YouTube

Online Sources- Reuters; Bloomberg; GlobalPost; Al Jazeera; Huffington Post

Daily Headlines: November 20, 2013

* Peru: A Peruvian consulting firm found that roughly 40% of people visiting the country this year are foodies interested in gastronomic tourism.

* U.S.: A new study concluded that Latinas under the age of 65 are 1.5 times as likely to die in a hospital of a heart attack than white males.

* Mexico: According to a report by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, 65 of the country's 101 most populated prisons were under the control of inmates instead of the authorities.

* Panama: On a visit to the Panama Canal, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden praised Panamanian officials for intercepting a shipment of Cuban arms bound for North Korea last July.

Online Sources  - Peru This Week; healthday.com; AFP; FRANCE24

Video Source - YouTube via user Peter Greenberg

Daily Headlines: August 29, 2013

Note: Much like on Wednesday blogging will be very light today. We will be back on Friday with a look at news from around the Americas, especially several protests occurring across the region.

* Panama: A U.N. investigation concluded that a shipment of weapons from Cuba to North Korea and was confiscated in Panama last June was in violation of a U.N arms embargo.

* El Salvador: Inocente Orlando Montano, a former El Salvadoran military commander accused of planning the killing of six Jesuit priests in 1989, could soon be extradited to Spain and stand trial for that massacre.

* Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil admitted that her government’s “top priority” is to maintain strong ties to other Latin American countries.

* Colombia: The Colombian constitutional court ratified a law passed this year that provides a legal framework for a potential peace deal with the FARC rebels.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Voice of America; Los Angeles Times; Reuters; GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: July 16, 2013

* Chile: A Chilean appeals court ruled that construction work on the Pascua-Lama gold mine must be halted and the site’s owners, Canadian firm Barrick Gold, has to repair environmental damage to two rivers.

* Bolivia: The Spanish government formally apologized for an incident weeks ago where the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced to land in Austria.

* Panama: President Ricardo Martinelli claimed that Panamanian authorities seized a North Korean-flagged ship traveling from Cuba with a shipment of arms and other “undeclared military cargo.”

* U.S.: Cuban-born baseball player Yoenis Cespedes captured the All-Star Home Run Derby crown with thirty-two homers including nine in the final round.

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources- CBC; Reuters; the Latin Americanist; ABC News; NPR

Daily Headlines: February 13, 2013

* Colombia: Peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC are allegedly going well despite a guerilla military offensive.

* Peru: Archeologists located a 5000-year-old temple in a Peruvian valley that could be among the oldest sites in the world.

* Venezuela: The U.S. State Department issued sanctions against a Venezuelan state-owned weapons firm for it’s dealings with Iran, North Korea or Syria.

* Paraguay: The head of the Paraguayan national electricity agency warned that the country’s energy system is on the verge of collapse.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English (The FARC ended a weeks-long unilateral ceasefire on January 20th).

Online Sources- GlobalPost, Reuters, Businessweek, inforsurhoy.com

World Watch: Melting Away

* Antarctica: A new scientific study found that methane gas trapped beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet could impact the global climate if the ice were to thaw.

* Iran: During his visit to the Nonaligned Movement conference in Tehran, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon expressed “serious concerns on the human rights abuses and violations” in Iran.

* Asia: Envoys from Japan and North Korea will hold talks for the first time since 2008 and that could improve diplomatic relations between both Asian states.

* India: A court upheld the death sentence of Pakistani national who was convicted for a series of attacks in Mumbai nearly four years ago.

Video Source– YouTube via user 7NEWS

Online Sources – Christian Science Monitor, BBC News, CBS News, The Guardian

World Watch: Pump

* U.S.: The price of gasoline in the U.S. rose for the 24th straight day while the price of Brent crude oil fell 2 percent for the week after five consecutive weekly gains.

* Syria: "It is unacceptable that people who have been in need of emergency assistance for weeks have still not received any help," said the president of the Red Cross after the Syrian government refused medics entry into the besieged area of Baba Amr.

* North Korea: In the aftermath of North Korea’s recent denuclearization plans, meetings are expected to take place next week to finalize details of a new U.S. food aid program to the Asian country.

* Russia: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to easily win Saturday’s presidential election in the first round by a comfortable margin according to several polls released this week.

Image Source– Flickr via futureatlas.com (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – Associated Press, Reuters, USA TODAY, CNN, Voice of America

World Watch: The Artist

* China: Wang Shu won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in recognition of his designs including “modernist high-rise apartment buildings to a university library that appears to float on the water.”

* Syria: The E.U. placed new sanctions against the Syrian government and central bank, while dissident activists claimed that 135 people were killed across the country today.

* Russia: Authorities uncovered an alleged assassination plot against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin though opposition politicians claimed that it may be a false diversion to distract from mass protests.

* South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blasted joint U.S.-South Korea military drills in the region and claimed that his country would be “ready to fight a war with them.”

Video Source– YouTube via Ecodialogue

Online Sources – CBC News, BusinessWeek, Voice of America, CNN, UPI

World Watch: Fatal Error

* Turkey: Turkish officials admitted that the military killed thirty-five civilians after mistaking them for Kurdish militants.

* North Korea: Kim Jong Un was declared as North Korea’s new “supreme leader” at a massive public memorial for his recently deceased father, Kim Jong Il.

* Egypt: Egyptian authorities raided the offices of seventeen “pro-democracy and human rights groups” including several U.S.-based organizations.

* Saudi Arabia: The U.S. government signed an agreement to sell nearly $30 billion worth of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – CNN, Christian Monitor, Reuters, Time

World Watch: The Start of Reconciliation?

* North Korea: A pair of South Korean delegation were allowed to visit their northern neighbor in order to pay condolences for the death of Kim Jong Il.

* Nigeria: Hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service outside a Catholic church where at least 39 people were killed by a bomb attack on Sunday.

* Egypt: Egyptian authorities charged three people with smuggling “a machine gun and ammunition” from Israel.

* Yemen: U.S. officials could allow Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to enter the country for medical treatment.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – CNN, Reuters, CBS News, Xinhua

Weekend World Watch: Holiday Spirit

* Israel: Over 120,000 pilgrims and tourists are estimated to have gathered in Bethlehem in order to celebrate Christmas.

* Libya: For the first time since 1969 Libya will publicly celebrate its day of independence, which was sixty years ago on this date.

* Russia: Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in several Russian cities calling for new parliamentary elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

* North Korea: Kim Jong Un was named as the "supreme leader of the revolutionary armed forces" days after the death of his father, former ruler Kim Jong Il.

* India: A court ordered that 22 Internet companies, including Google and Facebook, remove “objectionable content” from their websites.

* Nigeria: At least 68 people were killed as a result of clashes between police and “Islamic militant group Boko Haram.”

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – Voice of America, BBC News, ABC Online, USA TODAY, PC World, The Guardian

World Watch: Death

* North Korea: Could the death of Kim Jong-Il lead to the resumption of international nuclear negotiations that have been suspended since 2009?

* Czech Republic: Thousands of mourners in Prague paid their final respects to former president and activist Vaclav Havel who died on Sunday.

* Cape Verde: Grammy-award winning singer Cesária Évora passed away on Saturday at the age of 70.

* Philippines: Over 900 people have died in the Philippines as a result of flooding and heavy rains from tropical storm Washi.

Image Source – Flickr via jdxyw (“North Korean lawmakers, army and state officials attended a national meeting in 2010) at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium to honor North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – Sky News Australia, Huffington Post, CBC News, The Guardian

World Watch: Plugging Wikileaks?

* Switzerland: While Wikileaks continues to release documents a Swiss bank froze the assets of an account used by the website’s founder, Julian Assange.

* North Korea: International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo could charge North Korea with war crimes over a deadly military attack last month on a South Korean island.

* Ivory Coast: The E.U. could raise sanctions against the Ivory Coast due to the country’s heavily disputed presidential election.

* Iran: Representatives of Iran and “six world powers” met on Monday to discuss concerns about the controversial Iranian nuclear program.

Image – CTV (“Cable released by WikiLeaks reveals Canadian sites 'vital' to U.S.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, CNN, BBC News, The Guardian

World Watch: Barca blitz

* Spain: The latest edition of the Spanish clasico turned into a 5-0 walk in the park for FC Barcelona over bitter rivals Real Madrid.

* Egypt: Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Cairo to demonstrate against alleged voting irregularities.

* Asia: According to the Japanese press representatives of that country, South Korea, and the U.S. will meet next week to discuss the crisis on the Korean peninsula.

* Switzerland: First it was banning the construction of new minarets, and now Swiss voters backed a referendum measure to expel foreigners convicted of serious crimes.

Image – Andreu Dalmau/EPA via The Guardian (“David Villa celebrates after scoring his second and Barcelona's fourth against Real Madrid.”)
Online Sources- Voice of America, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor, CNN

World Watch: Change of heart?

* Vatican: Vatican authorities said that condom use may be acceptable to avoid the spread of AIDS and other diseases yet they are still “immoral” as a birth control device.

* Asia: Tensions increased between the two Koreas after one of the most serious military clashes since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

* Germany: Samuel Kunz, the "world's third most wanted" suspected Nazi, died last week near his hometown near Bonn, Germany.

* Ireland: The Irish government has come under fire over approving an $11 billion bailout from the E.U. and I.M.F.

Image – Getty Images via The Guardian ("The Vatican attempted to clarify the pope's comments about condoms.”)
Online Sources- The Guardian, New York Daily News, ABC News, CNN

World Watch: Relief?

* Pakistan: According to emergency officials floodwaters in southern Pakistan have started to recede yet millions of people continue to be affected by the adverse conditions.

* North Korea: The White House broadened sanctions against people and entities that support North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

* Somalia: Four African Union peacekeeping troops were killed by a mortar attack in Mogadishu.

* France: Despite growing international condemnation French authorities will continue with the deportation of illegal Roma residents.

Image – PRESS TV
Online Sources- BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, Xinhua

World Watch: The cutting edge

* Ethiopia: Scientists have discovered a set of bones that may have been used to cut meat 3.4 million years ago, nearly 80,000 years earlier than previously believed.

* North Korea: World soccer governing body FIFA will investigate alleged abuses against players and the coach of North Korea’s World Cup squad.

* Pakistan: U.N. officials are seeking $460 million in international aid for thousands of victims in flood-ravaged areas of Pakistan.

* Iraq: Eleven people including eight Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attacked by presumed insurgents.

Image – The Guardian
Online Sources- Voice of America, Globe and Mail, BBC News, Bloomberg

World Watch: Irritable Iranian

* Iran: How did Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad react to the U.N. sanctions passed today? By comparing them to “a used handkerchief that should be thrown in the waste bin.”

* Middle East: U.S. President Barack Obama pledged $400 million in development aid to Gaza while also opening the possibility for peace talks with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

* South Africa: Local health groups denounced soccer governing FIFA for supposedly “blocking condom and safe-sex information distribution” at World Cup venues.

* North Korea: In a letter to the U.N. North Korean officials denied that their military sank a South Korean warship in March.

Image – The Guardian
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Christian Science Monitor, MSNBC, CNN, BBC News

Hillary to OAS: 'You Mad'

A few years back, Harlem rapper Cam'ron appeared on Bill O'Reilly's "The Factor." O'Reilly wanted to know if Cam'ron felt his music was a bad influence on kids. When things got tough, Cam shut down the debate by taunting O'Reilly with a bizarrely effective chant of "you maaaad, you maaaaad."

Between China staying mum on North Korea's attack against a South Korean sub, Iran sanctions despite Brazil's push back, Europe going broke and that huge diplomatic mess that is the Israeli blockade of Gaza, I wouldn't blame Hillary if she wanted to pull a Cam'ron this week when talking with Latin American leaders about Honduras at the OAS meeting.

The Obama admin came to DC with aims to change the Bush-era perception that minus drugs and immigrants, Latin America is a forgotten backwater of America's global reach. With so many pressing problems in the world, Hillary might wonder what's going on at an organization whose members bent over backwards to let in a country that doesn't want to join them and now are working hard to keep out a country whose government would love to get back to normal.

But Hillary and the Obama administration haven't given up. In the year and a half that she's been Secretary of State, Hillary has made 7 trips to the region. Because the region was an afterthought to the Bush admin and because the region has never been treated to full partnership status by any American administration, it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of investment to see dividends.

As you can see in the O'Reilly clip, Bill turns his attention away from the disruptive "Killa Cam" and focuses his attention on the slightly more reasonable Damon Dash.

In the sense of US-Latin American relations over Honduras, I find a parallel in what Christopher Sabatini at Americas Quarterly had to say:

The ALBA countries have no interest in seeing this resolved. But moderate countries should, and objective and skillful diplomacy can get them there; it’s up to the U.S., its Brazilian colleagues and the much-criticized leadership of the OAS.

Now there’s also the matter of why two whole meetings of the region’s foreign ministers and secretaries should be taken up by Cuba and Honduras. But that’s another issue.

The Cam'ron approach, though highly rewarding in the short term, doesn't do much to build bridges and get results over the long term. Sorry Hillary, looks like you're going to have to stick with playing O'Reilly.

Image Source: NahRight

Online Sources: NY Times, Americas Quarterly, YouTube, The O'Reilly Factor, International Herald Tribune, Bloggings by Boz, Business Week, BBC News, Christian Science Monitor

Weekend World Watch: Tragedy in India

* India: Investigators found the black box from the debris of Saturday’s Air India plane crash that killed 158 people.

* Thailand: “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” was the surprise winner of the Palme d'Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

* South Korea: President Lee Myung-bak is expected to announce on Monday what actions South Korea will take on its northern neighbor over March’s sinking of the navy ship Cheonan.

* Malawi: Crowds jeered a gay couple that was sentenced to fourteen years in jail due to their homosexual relationship.

Image – ABC Online
Online Sources- The Telegraph, BBC News, Voice of America, MSNBC