Daily Headlines: March 18, 2013 (UPDATED)

* Argentina: Despite their disagreements over issues like gay marriage and birth control, newly elected Pope Francis met and had lunch with Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner today.

Update: Fernández told the press after her meeting that she urged the new Pontiff to intervene and "facilitate dialogue" between Argentina and Britain regarding their dispute over the Falkland Islands.  (This might be a topic of shared views between both figures though Pope Francis has yet to issue an official response).     

* Puerto Rico: Alex Rios’ two-run home run helped guide Puerto Rico to a 3-1 upset victory in the World Baseball Classic semifinals over two-time defending champion Japan. 

* Chile: Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet resigned from her post as the head of the U.N.’s women’s rights agency and will be named as a presidential candidate for the 2014 elections.

* Peru: Exit polls showed that Susana Villaran, the progressive mayor of the Peruvian capital city of Lima, narrowly won a recall election held on Sunday.

Video Source – YouTube via casarosada

Online Sources including Update- CNN, USA TODAY, GlobalPost, Reuters, ABC News, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: March 15, 2013

* Mexico: Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission called for an investigation of twenty-one current and former law enforcement officials over possible abuses in the Florence Cassez case.

* Latin America: Helen Clark, the head of the U. N. Development Program, praised the “very useful” debate in Latin America regarding changes to the “war on drugs.”

* Puerto Rico: U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer hinted that they would consider the possibility that a “natural-born” Puerto Rican could legally run for president.

* Peru: Susana Villaran, the mayor of the Peruvian capital city of mayor, risks being ousted in a recall vote set to take place on Sunday.

Video Source – YouTube via user JewishNewsOne

Online Sources- Huffington Post, Reuters, NBC News, LAHT