Daily Headlines: October 26, 2016

* Brazil: Tributes from the soccer world have poured in for Carlos Alberto, the captain of Brazil's World Cup-winning men’s national team in 1970, who died on Tuesday at the age of 72.

* South America: The Vatican announced it will soon released records linked to the infamous “Dirty War” era, while political tensions remain high in Venezuela days prior to Church-led negotiations between the government and opposition.

* Honduras: Some member of the United States Congress are not seeing eye-to-eye with the State Department over around $55 million in aid to Honduras despite the country’s dismal human rights record.

* Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan government accepted observers from the Organization of American States to monitor elections on November 6th where polls indicate President Daniel Ortega will easily win another term in office.

YouTube Source – Classic Football 

Online Sources – Los Angeles Times, Yahoo Sports, Reuters, CBC, The Washington Post

Daily Headlines: September 15, 2016

* Latin America: Former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab woke up from a coma following the effects of a hunger strike, while Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas said he was duped by a fake website into halting his fast.

* Mexico: Extradition hearings against imprisoned drug capo Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are expected to start on September 26th though the process could take years to carry out.

* Venezuela: The Vatican confirmed its mediation in the tense and deep political division in Venezuela between the government and the opposition.

* Brazil: Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva claimed he was a “victim of extremely serious illegalities” after prosecutors charged him with corruption as part of the “Lava Jato” probe.

YouTube Source – Marti Noticias (Guillermo Fariñas halted his latest hunger strike, the twenty-fifth such protest by the Cuban dissident, on Monday after more than two months).

Online Sources – ABC News, Fox News Latino, El Pais, BBC News, CNN

Pope Francis: We Cannot Ignore Migratory “Humanitarian Crisis”

“Forced migration is a global crisis,” declared Pope Francis during the homily at a mass held in Ciudad Juarez near the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis” due to migrants traveling thousands of miles across mountains, and deserts, said the pontiff at the event held on the final day of his six-day visit to the Latin American country.

Theirs is a “journey wrought with terrible injustices: enslaved, kidnapped, blackmailed (and) our brothers” exploited by the business of human trafficking. 

In his view, it is a humanitarian crisis that is measured “by names, by histories, by families” among those making the arduous trek northbound through Mexico.

“To say of the many women worse lives have been unfairly taken away,” the pontiff added seemingly in recognition of the thousands of femicides occurring in the northern border region.

The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina recognized the work of civil organizations and clergy members who defend migrants “on the front line while risking their own lives."

He noted “it is time for salvation, for mercy” and urged the tens of thousands of people attending the mass to “ask God…to open our hearts.”

“No border can prevent the mercy we share between our brothers and sisters,” said the Pope who acknowledged those following the mass in El Paso including those flowing a live telecast at the Sun Bowl Stadium.

He later thanked the Mexican people for their hospitality and admitted that there were occasions that he wanted to weep after observing “so much hope among a people who have suffered.”

Prior to the pope’s message in Juarez, migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border region held high expectations that he would acknowledge their difficulties and provide a sympathetic voice:

A letter sent to Pope Francis from the Border Network for Human Rights was read at its Monday rally. The letter, signed by about 200 families, was delivered to the pope Monday, said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network…
 

"We ask that you direct your voice and message to the powers that be that enact public policies that criminalizes and oppresses us; we ask that you lift the spirits of immigrants to a worthy place, for Jesus himself was an immigrant," the letter stated in part.

The Pope did not shy from discussing immigration during his visit to the U.S. last year by urging political leaders “not to turn their back on our neighbors” and praised those who open their hearts towards migrants.

During his time in Mexico, the Argentine-born pontiff called on youth gathered in Michoacán to reject violence and “dare to dream” of a better future, while in Ecatepec he urged Mexicans to resist the temptations of greed and corruption. It remains to be seen how many cold hearts he may have warmed such as a former associate of imprisoned Knights Templar drug gang leader Servando Gómez Martínez who attended the Pope’s mass on Tuesday in Morelia.

YouTube Source – EFE (“The Pope stood and prayed at a cross situated near the U.S.-Mexico border…and subsequently blessed hundreds of followers on the U.S. side of the Rio Bravo.”)
 
Online Sources (English) – BBC News, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, The Latin Americanist, USA TODAY
 
Online Sources (Spanish) – Excelsior, El Universal, El Informador

Daily Headlines: February 9, 2016

* Nicaragua: Nicaraguan officials still plan to go ahead with the construction of an interoceanic canal despite construction delays, financing issues, and strong opposition from residents.

* Latin America: The Vatican presented a more detailed agenda of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Cuba and Mexico, while Catholics in Chile have urged the pontiff to fire a bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse cases.

* Argentina: The Argentine government offered $6.5 billion to settle with some creditors holding on to $80 billion in defaulted debt but may face pushback from bondholders seeking full repayment.

* Puerto Rico: More bad news for debt-ridden Puerto Rico as economic activity suffered a 0.5% yearly drop last December.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour (Video uploaded on April 2015).

Online Sources – The Australian, Catholic News Service, teleSUR English, Bloomberg, Reuters

Daily Headlines: October 21, 2015

* Cuba: Cuban graffiti artist Danilo “El Sexto” Maldonado was freed from jail following a ten-month detention over an “attempted piece of protest performance art.”

* Uruguay: The repatriation of six former Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Uruguay has allegedly served as an obstacle to the White House’s push to close the military facility in eastern Cuba.

* Brazil: Attorneys have filed a new petition to bring up impeachment charges against President Dilma Rousseff over accusations of doctoring government data.

* Vatican: Vatican officials rejected unconfirmed Italian news reports claiming that Argentine-born Pope Francis was sick and diagnosed with a curable brain tumor.

YouTube Source – Oslo Freedom Forum (“Lia Villares accepts the Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent on behalf of imprisoned Cuban artist El Sexto at the 2015 Oslo Freedom Forum.”)

Online Sources – The Guardian, Bloomberg, Reuters, CBS News

Daily Headlines: June 15, 2015

* Dominican Republic: The Vatican officially indicted Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, the former papal nuncio for the Dominican Republic, on sexual child abuse charges and will stand trail starting in July.

* Brazil: In a bad sign for the Brazilian economy, car sales in the world's fourth-largest auto market is expected to fall by 18% this year.

* Venezuela: A study found that 27% of Venezuelans between 15 and 29-years-old are considering emigrating mainly due to the weakened economy and a perceived lack of opportunity.

* Mexico: “As the purpose of matrimony is not procreation, there is no justified reason that the matrimonial union be heterosexual, nor that it be stated as between only a man and only a woman,” according to a landmark Mexican Supreme Court decree issued earlier this month.

YouTube Source – euronews (Video uploaded in September 2014).

Online Sources – CNN, NBC News, Fox News Latino, UPI

Daily Headlines: May 18, 2015

* Venezuela: Venezuela’s main opposition coalition held legislative primaries with the hope that they can take advantage of growing discontent against the government and capture the National Assembly later this year.

* Cuba: Several Caribbean countries are being hit with very dry weather conditions including Cuba where more than 1 million people are reportedly affected by “an intense drought.”

* Latin America: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to announce a series of major investment projects in Latin America during his official visit to Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile this week.

* Vatican: Argentine-born Pope Francis canonized two Arab nuns from Palestine days after the Vatican formally recognized the state of Palestine.
 
YouTube Source – Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – Miami Herald, Fox News Latino, USA TODAY, teleSUR English

Vatican Announces Papal Visit to Cuba

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed on Wednesday that Pope Francis would visit Cuba this September prior to a three-city tour of the U.S.

“I am able to confirm that the Holy Father Francis, having received and accepted the invitation from the civil authorities and bishops of Cuba, has decided to pay a visit to the island before his arrival in the United States for the trip announced some time ago,” affirmed Lombardi in a statement.

Lombardi’s remarks come after he claimed on April 17th that plans for a papal visit to Cuba were “still at too early a stage to be able to talk about a firm decision and an operational plan.”

The Argentine-born pontiff will thus become the third consecutive head of the Roman Catholic Church to visit the Caribbean country. Pope Benedict XVI called for greater religious liberties and prayed for dissidents “deprived of freedom” during his trip to Cuba three years ago.  The Cuban government granted greater recognition to Catholics following Pope John Paul II’s visit to the island in 1998. Years before becoming the Pope, the then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergolio, subsequently wrote a book describing the effects of that vital visit.

Pope Francis has been credited with being instrumental to the push between Cuban and U.S. leaders to normalize bilateral relations after decades of mistrust. Francis oversaw final talks between delegations from the U.S. and Cuba at the Vatican last October.  Following the historic announcements by Barack Obama and Raul Castro to improve ties last December, Francis sent them each letters urging them to “resolve humanitarian questions of common interest, including the situation of certain prisoners.”

Daily Headlines: August 27, 2014

* Argentina: Angel Di Maria of Argentina broke the British transfer record when he officially signed for Manchester United on Tuesday as part of a $95 million deal.

* Venezuela: The governments of U.S. and Venezuela usually don’t see eye-to-eye but nearly two out of three Venezuelans view the U.S. favorably according to a Pew Research Center survey.

* Dominican Republic: Ex-Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski could be extradited to the Dominican Republic where he’s accused of child sexual abuse.

* Latin America: A United Nations study found that roughly 200 million residents of Latin America and the Caribbean are “vulnerable” to falling into poverty even though poverty rates in the region decreased between 2000 and 2012.

Video Source – YouTube user ScoutNationHD

Online Sources – BBC Sport; The Latin Americanist; UPI; BBC News; Pew Research Center

Daily Headlines: January 16, 2014

* Guatemala: Vice President Roxana Baldetti was released from a medical clinic after a powder that may have been lime was thrown on her following the president's state of the nation speech.

* Cuba: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on the Vatican to help push for the release of Alan Gross, a contractor imprisoned in Cuba since 2009.

* Mexico: Most “self-defense” groups in Michoacán state have strongly refused the government’s call to lay down their arms and allow an influx of federal troops to combat drug traffickers.

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro declared that the Venezuelan currency would not be devaluated despite high inflation and shortages of some consumer goods.

Video Source – YouTube user CadenaTres
 
Online Sources- Fox News Latino; Reuters; BBC News

Daily Headlines: October 8, 2013

* Cuba: Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno said that for the 22nd straight year his country will push for a U.N. condemnation of the decades-long U.S. trade embargo on the island.

* Brazil: “The United States and its allies must immediately stop their spying activity once and for all,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tweeted after new allegations emerged accusing the Canadian government of spying on the South American country.

* Mexico: The possibility of a U.S. government debt default has apparently led to increased anxiety among economists and officials in Mexico.

* Dominican Republic: Pope Francis named the Vatican’s new ambassador to the Dominican Republic after the previous envoy was removed while being investigated for possible sexual abuse.

Video Source – YouTube via NTDTV (188 nations voted last year at the U.N. General Assembly against the U.S. embargo against Cuba with only the U.S., United States, Israel and Palau supporting the blockade).

Online Sources- Reuters; The Latin Americanist; Voice of America; Salon; CSMonitor.com

Daily Headlines: July 12, 2013

* Chile: Thousands of Chileans called for better working conditions and tax reform as part of a nationwide strike organized by the country’s largest labor union.

* Vatican: Argentine-born Pope Francis introduced legislation aimed at cracking down sexual abuse and child pornography at the Vatican.

* Brazil: A lawsuit was filed with the Brazilian Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the country’s “World Cup law.”

* U.S.: A former Cuban prison chief accused of human rights abuses is allegedly hiding out somewhere in the U.S.

Video Source – YouTube via user Emisoras Unidas

Online Sources- ABC News; USA TODAY; Bloomberg; Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: June 12, 2013

* Venezuela: Electoral authorities confirmed the victory of President Nicolás Maduro in April’s presidential elections though runner-up Henrique Capriles pledged to keep contesting the results.

* Mexico: Officials in the western state of Jalisco said that they rescued some 275 workers who were being held in slave-like conditions at tomato processing facility.

* Vatican: In remarks to the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious, Argentine-born Pope Francis claimed that a “gay lobby” exists within the Vatican.

* Cuba: Cuba is expected to join the annual Caribbean Series of baseball next year for the first time since 1960.

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources- MLB.com; Herald Sun; NPR; Bernama; The Latin Americanist

Chilean President Mourns “Great Loss” of Margaret Thatcher

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera expressed his condolences over the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Monday.

“I wish to express my condolences and solidarity with the family of Margaret Thatcher and the British people,” said Piñera at an event this morning.

“She was a brave woman who faced her obstacles and always had a strong attitude to solve problems.  (Her death) is a great loss not only for Britain but for the entire world,” added Piñera.

During her eleven years in power,  the “Iron Lady” had close ties with numerous conservative leaders including former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and ex-Chilean strongman Gen. Augusto Pinochet.  It was under her rule that in 1980 Britain lifted its arms embargo with Chile that had been put in place since the Pinochet-led military coup d’état against the civilian government.  According to the Chilean press, Britain sent over $160 million worth of weapons to Chile including missiles and jet fighters. 

The relationship between Thatcher and Pinochet was strengthened during the Falklands War of 1982.  Even though the military regimes in Chile and Argentina were close allies during the infamous Operation Condor, the Pinochet regime would send Britain intelligence information regarding Argentina.

Thatcher was steadfast in supporting Pinochet after both leaders left their respective posts of power.  In 1999 she blasted British leaders for contemplating the extradition of Pinochet to Spain where he faced charges of human rights abuse.

“Today I break my self-denying ordinance and for a very good reason - to express my outrage at the callous and unjust treatment of Senator Pinochet,” declared Thatcher who had largely been out of the public eye since departing 10 Downing Street in 1990.

“What is planned there is a show trial - lingering death in a foreign land,” she said.

In the end, Pinochet would not be extradited to Spain.  He would eventually return to Chile and die in impunity in 2006.  Thatcher was one of the few international figures who mourned the death of someone she considered her “friend.”

Speaking of Pinochet, Wikileaks revealed today that the Vatican allegedly turned a blind eye to atrocities committed in Chile during the first few weeks of the military junta:

Daily Headlines: October 4, 2012

* U.S.: A new poll found that 60% of Latinos support same sex marriage including nearly half of all respondents who strongly support such unions.

* Honduras: A constitutional court ruling could lead to the beginning of the end of a government-backed plan to construct three “private cities.”

* Chile: Vatican officials are allegedly investigating allegations of child sex abuse by a bishop from the northern city of Iquique.

* Colombia: “Thank God, everything went well and I am recovering satisfactorily,” tweeted President Juan Manuel Santos hours after he underwent a surgery to remove a cancerous prostate.

Video Source – YouTube via user kgbt4tv (Video uploaded in May 2012).

Online Sources- Xinhua, UPI, On Top Magazine, CBS News

World Watch: Good night Wangari

* Kenya: Rest in peace Wangari Maathai; the environmental activist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient died at the age of 71 on Monday.

* Middle East: The U.N. Security Council will start holding meetings on Wednesday to decide on the recognition of Palestinian statehood to the global body.

* Italy: A senior member of the Catholic Church blasted the Italian political class for numerous scandals that have implicated top officials.

* China: A pair of Tibetan monks set themselves on fire in protest against the Chinese government's policies.

Image – The Guardian

Online Sources- CNN, BBC News, New York Times, CBC News

World Watch: Strings attached

* U.S.: Could the arrest of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn serve as a prime opportunity for “increasingly rich developing countries” to seek greater power in the organization?

* Israel: Israeli officials are preparing for possible civilian uprisings similar to those that took place in nearby countries like Bahrain and Egypt.

* Libya: International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was seeking arrest warrants against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two others.

* Vatican: Catholic Church officials urged bishops to cooperate with police and report possible cases of child and sexual abuse.

Image – Reuters via The Guardian (“Dominique Strauss-Kahn sits behind court officers at Manhattan criminal court, New York.” The IMF head was arrested on Sunday night and was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.)
Online Sources- MSNBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, AP

Weekend World Watch: Unholy behavior

* Vatican: According to diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks Vatican officials were "offended” by an Irish investigation into alleged child abuse while the Holy See backed U.S. efforts in 2004 to ban “human cloning.”

* Iran: Did an Iranian women sentenced to death by stoning for the death of her husband really commit the crime as was depicted on a documentary on state-run TV or was the program government propaganda?

* Sudan: Southern Sudan’s ruling party backed independence for the region weeks before a critical referendum vote.

* China: Exports from China jumped by nearly 35% last month compared to November 2009 though the country’s trade surplus continued to grow.

Image – AP via CBS News (“Pope Benedict XVI uses a handkerchief during a canonization ceremony at the Vatican Oct. 11, 2009.”)
Online Sources- Voice of America, Reuters, BBC News, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English

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

Another Brazilian minor is raped and impregnated

The debate over abortion in Brazil may heat up again after another raped girl was impregnated.

As originally reported by the Brazilian press via the Catholic News Agency, a 13 year-old girl is four months pregnant after being raped by her father. The girl and her legal guardian appealed to allow her to give birth and it seems as if officials will permit her to do so.

Earlier this month a firestorm developed when a nine-year-old girl aborted her twins after doctors deemed the procedure necessary due to her very weak health. Despite the extreme circumstances surrounding her pregnancy (e.g. she had been abused for years by her stepfather) the Brazilian archdiocese and the Vatican strongly condemned the abortion.

In the face of a backlash the Vatican began to backtrack from its overly harsh and unfair criticism. Some local Brazilian priests tried to downplay the Archdiocese's reaction though they also blasted the girl’s abortion:

The pastor, Father Edson Rodrigues, “making use of his pastoral care, when he heard the news in his residence, immediately went to the house of the family, in which he met the girl and lent her his support and presence, before the grave and difficult situation in which the girl found herself. And this attitude continued every day, from Alagoinha to Recife, where the sad event of the abortion of the two innocent babies took place.”

Therefore, the priests wrote, “it is quite evident and unequivocal that nobody thought first of all of ‘excommunication.’” We used all means at our disposal to avoid the abortion and thus save all three lives,” they said.

Image- The Telegraph
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Catholic News Agency