Daily Headlines: April 2, 2014

* Chile: At least five people died and more than 900,000 residents of Chile’s coastal area were evacuated due to a magnitude-8.2 earthquake that occurred Tuesday night near the northern part of the country.

* U.S.: The White House claimed that over seven million people signed on for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act though it has yet to be revealed how many of them were Latinos.

* Puerto Rico: The acting head of Puerto Rico’s beleaguered police department resigned reportedly so that he can attend to personal issues.

* Mexico: Remittances to Mexico, which serve as the country’s second-largest source of foreign exchange, increased by 7.15% in January and February of this year compared to the same period in 2013.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube (Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared a state of emergency for the Tarapaca, Arica and Parinacota regions following last night's tremor that was also felt in Peru and Bolivia.)

Online Sources- GlobalPost; The Guardian; Voice of America; LAHT; NBC News

Daily Headlines: March 27, 2014

* Cuba: According to the Cuba state media, the government is planning to introduce a new foreign investment law aimed at boosting the island’s sagging economy.

* U.S.: Could the latest Obamacare deadline change help Latinos trying to apply for medical coverage before the end of this month?

* El Salvador: The F.B.I. placed on “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” an MS-13 gang member suspected of murdering two people and who is allegedly in hiding in El Salvador.

* Uruguay: President Jose Mujica of Uruguay said that his any of the five Guantanamo Bay detainees that might be taken in by his country would be considered as refugees and, thus, could freely travel.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube (“Cuba inaugurated its new Mariel "megaport" (last January), in hopes the project will symbolize a more open stance towards commerce and become a regional hub for shipments despite a lack of investment and the US economic embargo”.)
 
Online Sources- Bloomberg; Reuters; CBS News; NBC News; The Huffington Post

Daily Headlines: February 18, 2014

* Honduras: A United Nations-affiliated report released yesterday found that Honduras continues to have the world’s highest homicide rate even though the rate in murders dropped 6.5% last year.

* U.S.: Is the "fear of deportation" be one of the main reasons behind sagging Latino enrollment in health care programs covered under the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare?

* Mexico: The proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, expanding free trade and easing travel restrictions are topics likely to be discussed by the heads of the U.S., Canadian and Mexican governments at the  “Three Amigos” summit that starts today.

* Brazil: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff clamed that her country will become the world’s top producer of soybeans by the end of this year.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube (“In Honduras, the military police is a highly visible presence in the most violent region of Tegucigalpa and the San Pedro Sula, where residents have been plagued by violent gang crime”).

Online Sources- CBC News; Herald Sun; New York Times; Time

Daily Headlines: January 14, 2014

* Mexico: Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong announced that federal troops would be sent to an area of Michoacán state where vigilante “self-defense” groups have been combating drug traffickers.

* Central America: While trouble continues to plague the expansion of the Panama Canal, Nicaraguan officials said that construction would commence in December of a “mega-waterway” connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

* U.S.: Technical problems, grammatical mistakes and erroneous translations have reportedly plagued the Spanish version of the federal government’s Obamacare/Affordable Care Act website.

* Colombia: Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez confirmed the ouster of Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro though it remains to be seen if the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will intercede on his behalf.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube

Online Sources- Miami Herald; Fox News Latino; Prensa Latina; The Telegraph; Al Jazeera English

Daily Headlines: December 11, 2013

* Uruguay: Legislators in Uruguay approved a landmark proposal that would grant the government authority to regulate marijuana production and distribution.

* Dominican Republic: The Dominican government strongly criticized a report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights opposing a recent court decision that could remove the citizenship of thousands of people.
  
* U.S.: The Spanish-language Obamacare/Affordable Care Act enrollment website commenced running this week after a two-month delay.

* Peru: Gastón Acurio, one of Peru’s best-known celebrity chefs, rejected the possibility that he will run for his country’s presidency in 2016.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- The Guardian; ABC News; The Latin Americanist; Fox News Latino; Peru This Week

Daily Headlines: October 2, 2013

* Haiti: Police in Port-au-Prince clashed with some of the thousands of backers of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide who protested against the government led by Michel Martelly.

* Colombia: Gen. Flavio Buitrago became the second chief of security for former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to have been arrested over the past year due to alleged ties to drug traffickers.

* U.S.: Could Latino consumers play a decisive role in the potential success of the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare?

* Argentina: The U.S. Supreme Court opted not to listen to an appeal from the Argentine government to avoid possibly paying the holders of billions of dollars of defaulted bonds.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews
 
Online Sources- LAHT; CNN; The Guardian; Bloomberg; Fox News Latino