Daily Headlines: September 5, 2012

* Mexico: Authorities arrested Mario Cardenas, one of the suspected leaders of the Gulf drug trafficking gang, and presented him to the media yesterday.

* Colombia: Now it’s official – the Colombian government and FARC guerillas will start peace negotiations next month in Oslo, Norway.

* Haiti: Will a huge billboard located along I-95 in south Florida help boost tourism in Haiti?

* Chile: Indigenous Mapuche protesters agreed to end their 39-day occupation of UNICEF offices in Santiago.

Video Source – YouTube via user ElUniversalTV

Online Sources- UPI, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist, CBS Miami, Santiago Times

World Watch: Sing Your Life

* Norway: Some 40,000 people gathered in Oslo and sang en masse “Children of the Rainbow”, a popular children's song that mass murderer Anders Breivik insulted last week.

* Liberia: An international tribunal in The Hague convicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sierra Leone's civil war.

* Japan: “Increasing competition from casual gamers playing on their smartphones” has been cited as one of the reasons behind Nintendo posting its first annual loss last year.

* Syria: The Local Coordination Committees of Syria opposition group claimed that they’ve identified the bodies of 462 people killed since a U.N. mission entered the country ten days ago.

Video Source– YouTube via HAAJHA

Online Sources – BBC News, Voice of America, Christian Science Monitor, CNN

Daily Headlines: October 24, 2008

* U.S.: Closing arguments began yesterday in the “Maletagate” trial where four Venezuelan defendants are being accused of trying to cover up an alleged money smuggling operation destined for Argentina’s president.

* Peru: The CEO of Norway's Discover Petroleum and 13 other execs have been charged in an oil scandal which led to a government shakeup.

* Mexico: The country’s Senate approved an energy reform plan which may partially privatize state-run PEMEX.

* Haiti: Despite being battered by tropical storms Haiti will not receive debt relief from the World Bank.

Image- AP (“In this court room illustration, Carlos Kauffmann, the business partner of defendant Franklin Duran, is seen on the witness stand, left, as Duran is seen on right in a Miami courtroom Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008.”)
Sources- IHT, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, UPI, miamiherald.com