Daily Headlines: November 2, 2016

* Mexico: Mexico’s “sugar tax” on carbonated beverages enacted in 2013 could prevent as many as 500,000 cases of diabetes and save up to $2.5 billion in ten years, according to a new report.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos indicated that a reworked peace deal with the FARC rebels would be ratified by Congress rather than risk defeat at a second referendum.

* Bolivia: Spanish energy giant Repsol extended its agreement for exploration and operation of Bolivia’s largest oil bloc to 2046.

* Chile: The race for 2018 World Cup qualification in South America became much tighter after a decision to dock points from Bolivia allowed Chile to leapfrog Argentina in the standings.

YouTube Source – Euromonitor International (Video uploaded on November 2013).

Online Sources – Vocaticv, Colombia Reports, Goal.com, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: October 12, 2016

* Haiti: An official report said Hurricane Matthew decimated Haiti’s agricultural sector including the loss of tens of thousands of acres of farmland and more than 350,000 heads of livestock.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan intel chief Gustavo González López accused the opposition of planning a terrorist escalation aimed at deposing President Nicolas Maduro, while critics point out that state-owned PDVSA is falling closer to default in the oil-rich country.

* Honduras: Authorities in the United States and Honduras are collaborating in the investigation of thirty-five members of the Honduran political elite with potential ties to criminal groups.

* South America: In the latest round of World Cup qualifiers, Brazil heads the standings with four straight wins and Argentina was stunned at home against Paraguay.

YouTube Source – CCTV News (“Hurricane Matthew has left Haiti in a catastrophic state…Making things worse is that the country is still struggling after it was devastated by a magnitude-7 earthquake in 2010.”)

Online Sources – Xinhua, InSight Crime, UPI, Finanical Times, Goal.com

Daily Headlines: September 7, 2016

* Chile: A Chilean Senate panel approved a controversial proposal to relax a total ban on abortion and allow it under certain cases including when the pregnancy is caused by rape.

* Brazil: Much like his predecessor, interim President Michel Temer faces his own corruption scandal that could taint his rule less than a week after taking office.

* Latin America: While World Cup 2018 qualifiers were held through the Americas, the bigger news may be that FIFA president Gianni Infantino would be open to a possible joint United States-Mexico bid for the 2026 version of the tournament.

* El Salvador: the Nicaraguan government conceded asylum to former Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes who is under investigation in his home country for purportedly not declaring $700,000 of his personal income.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour (The 2013 rape and impregnation of an eleven-year-old girl in Chile helped reopen the debate on abortion, which is illegal under all circumstances in that country.)

Online Sources – Deutsche Welle, Reuters, teleSUR English, Vanguard, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: September 1, 2016

* Venezuela: Several hundred thousand people are marching at a protest in Caracas against the regime of President Nicolas Maduro and calling for his resignation from office.

* South America: Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup resume today with matches including the latest battle between neighbors Uruguay and Argentina, and Ecuador looking to continue their historic home field advantage in Quito versus Brazil.

* Costa Rica: Costa Rica has been running its electrical grid using renewable energy sources for at least 121 days and officials are hoping to stretch that out to a full year.

* Latin America: A new report found that operations by special U.S. military forces including Green Berets and the Navy SEALs have tripled in Latin America between 2007 and 2014.

YouTube Source – Agencia EFE 

Online Sources – Reuters, Xinhua, Goal.com, The Independent, Common Dreams

Daily Headlines: April 13, 2016

* Nicaragua: Nicaragua legislators rejected a “citizens bill” based on a petition with some 28,000 signatories seeking to stop a planned interoceanic canal. 

* Cuba: The Cuban government loosened restrictions on some cooperatives as part of a “cautiously implemented market reform program” but stopped short of granting more flexibility to private restaurants.

* Latin America: The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean believes Latin America’s economy will shrink by 0.6% this year in a report published days after the Inter-American Development Bank revised their outlook to a 0.3% contraction.

* Mexico: Mexico is allegedly preparing a plan to bid for the 2026 soccer World Cup, which could affect the chances of the U.S. hosting the event and might impact the joint invite for the 2030 tournament by Argentina and Uruguay.

YouTube Source – AFP

Online Sources – The Guardian, Reuters, Nearshore Americas, Fox Sports

Daily Headlines: March 29, 2016

* Chile: President Michelle Bachelet of Chile said her government could countersue Bolivia at the International Court of Justice regarding a dispute over water rights from the Silala River located in a border region.

* Latin America: Argentina and Uruguay’s joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup received a boost from the president of FIFA, while the ex-chief of the Honduran soccer federation pled guilty to his role in the “FIFA-gate” corruption scandal.

* Brazil: A group of Brazilian legislators called for relaxing the country’s harsh gun laws even though 60,000 homicides took place in the country in 2014.

* Puerto Rico: A U.S. federal judge sided with Wal-Mart and quashed a law that raised taxes wealthy companies paid  “on goods they buy from ‘related parties’” in debt-ridden Puerto Rico.

YouTube Source – CCTV News (“Bolivia argues it owns the Silala River and is not being compensated for Chile's use of the water. Chile argues that the water flows across their shared border and therefore it constitutes as an international river.”)

Online Sources – NPR, Fortune, Sky Sports, euronews, ABC News

Daily Headlines: March 25, 2016

* Brazil: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff once again claimed she would not resign despite an impeachment process against her and a deepening political crisis stemming from the “Lava Jato” corruption probe.

* Vatican: Pope Francis is the world’s most popular leader according to a new survey, while the Argentine-born pontiff washed the feet of twelve refugees as par of a traditional Holy Thursday gesture.

* U.S.: Why is the spike in HIV and AIDS cases in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas “a warning sign for the U.S. healthcare community as well as Latino neighborhoods across” the nation?

* Latin America: Researchers believe the Zika virus that has spread across the Americas arrived in South America sometime in 2013 and not during sporting events held in Brazil two years ago such as the World Cup.

YouTube Source – Ruptly TV (“Anti-government protesters demonstrated through Sao Paulo, (on March 20th), as Brazil’s lower house continues to discuss Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's potential impeachment”.)
 
Online Sources – Xinhua, Catholic Herald, The Huffington Post, BBC News, Latina

Daily Headlines: March 24, 2016

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales of Bolivia claimed his country will file a new lawsuit with   the “appropriate international bodies” over the landlocked state’s desire for access to the ocean.

* South America: World Cup qualifiers resume today in South America with matches including Luis Suárez returning to the Uruguay lineup, and a Copa America finals rematch between Chile and Argentina.

* Mexico: For all the talk on the U.S. presidential campaign race on building a wail along the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities announced yesterday the discovery of the twelfth drug smuggling tunnel between Mexico and California since 2006.

* Venezuela: Five men including thee officials with PDVSA pled guilty in a U.S. federal court over their involvement in a bribery scheme between U.S. energy companies and the Venezuelan state-run oil firm.

YouTube Source – AFP (Footage from May 2015. The International Court of Justice last September rejected a Chilean appeal to drop analyzing Bolivia's decades-long dispute for ocean access.)
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latino, ESPN FC, Goal.com, ABC News, Reuters

Weekend Headlines: November 29, 2015

* Cuba: Several hundred protesters demonstrated outside of the Ecuadoran embassy in Havana after the South American country imposed new visa restrictions on visitors from Cuba.

* Venezuela: The death of Venezuelan opposition politician Luis Diaz by unknown gunmen last Wednesday has added to an already tense political climate prior to next Sunday’s legislative elections.

* Haiti: Presidential candidate Jude Célestin could drop out of the December 27th runoff amid allegations of fraud during the October 25th election.

* Chile: Jovino Novoa, described as a “founding member of Chile's largest party and former collaborator of late dictator Augusto Pinochet”, was found guilty as part of a corruption investigation.

* Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff will order a freeze of some $2.65 billion in spending in order to comply while the government tries to tackle a budget crisis.

* South America: Will South American neighbors Argentina and Uruguay launch a joint bid to host the soccer World Cup in 2030?

YouTube Source – EFE (Starting on December 1st, Ecuador will halt becoming the only Latin American nation without visa requirements for visitors from Cuba).

Online Sources – Deusche Welle, Reuters, ABC News, SBS, NDTV

Daily Headlines: November 13, 2015

* South America: Ecuador continues to be the surprise team of World Cup qualifiers for the South American region while stormy weather postponed the match between historic rivals Argentina and Brazil.

* Peru: Peruvian authorities announced the creation of a new 5500-square mile national park in the rainforest though it may be in danger over plans to construct a nearby freeway.

* Puerto Rico: The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, with debts of up to $8.2 billion, reached an agreement to extend its deadline to repay bondholders.

* Brazil: Brazilian immigration officials will grant permanent residency to nearly 44,000 undocumented Haitian migrants who have entered the country since a 2010 earthquake.

YouTube Source – TV Pública Argentina
 
Online Sources – Goal.com, ESPN FC, teleSUR English, Bloomberg, GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: October 15, 2015

* Argentina: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called for a full investigation into the death of local LGBT activist Diana Sacayan who became the third transgendered woman killed in Argentina during the past month.

* Brazil: “I will rise up against coup plotters and their conspiratorial actions, I’m not scared of them,” proclaimed President Dilma Rousseff as she has her back against the wall from a faltering economy and a push to impeach her.

* Ecuador: British officials warned that police would arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he leaves the Ecuadoran embassy on London to undergo medical tests.

* South America: Uruguay, Ecuador and Chile are a perfect two wins in two matches in the early stages of qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English (“Trans rights activist Diana Sacayan was found dead in her home on Tuesday under suspicious circumstances.”)

Online Sources – Mashable, The Guardian, ESPN FC, France 24

Daily Headlines: October 9, 2015

* South America: World Cup qualifiers in South America began yesterday with noteworthy matches including Ecuador shocking Argentina in Buenos Aires and Copa America titleholders Chile beating Brazil.

* Brazil: Nine police officers allegedly avenging the shooting of an off-duty cop were arrested and charged with killing nineteen people on August 13th near Sao Paulo.

* Mexico: Mayor Enrique Serrano of Ciudad Júarez has called on a boycott of the hit film Sicario since it “speaks badly of the city.”

* Venezuela: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez accused the Guyanese government of “misleading the international community” over a heated territorial dispute between the neighboring countries.

YouTube Source – Futbolpasionmundial3 (Patricio Javier Diaz of La Red Ecuador radio provided emotional play-by-play of Ecuador’s two goals in their upset over Argentina on Thursday).
 
Online Sources – ESPN FC, The Guardian, BBC News, Xinhua

Daily Headlines: July 21, 2015

* El Salvador: Salvadoran deputy police chief Howard Cotto ruled out negotiating with street gangs despite a call for dialogue in order to reduce high rates of violence.

* Brazil: Three executives of Brazil's Camargo Correa construction became the first figures to receive prison sentences in relation to a major bribery and corruption scandal that has rocked the South American country.

* Puerto Rico: Could statehood serve as a viable solution to alleviate Puerto Rico’s $73 billion debt?

* Uruguay: Alcides Ghigga, the Uruguayan game-winning goal scorer in the World Cup upset over Brazil known as the Maracanazo, died on the 65th anniversary of that game.

YouTube Source – wochit Latin America (“The month of June saw 677 murders in El Salvador. That's more than in any other single month since the end of the country's civil war.”)
 
Online Sources – Rappler, Deutsche Welle, The New York Times, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: April 23, 2015

* Chile: Authorities evacuated more than 5000 people living near the Calbuco volcano that erupted twice after having been dormant since 1972.

* Puerto Rico: “The island's financial state is extremely uncertain,” was the grim warning issued by Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank over a potential local government shutdown.

* U.S.: A defunct movie theater in Texas has sued the AMC megachain over alleged “conduct (that) was anticompetitive, unlawful, and harmful to Houston’s substantial Hispanic and Spanish-speaking community.”

* Argentina: Spanish coach Josep “Pep” Guardiola could be fined for wearing a shirt supporting a campaign for Jorge “El Topo” López, an Argentine journalist killed at last year’s World Cup in Brazil.

YouTube Source – Associated Press

Online Sources – ABC News, The A.V. Club, Al Jazeera, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: November 11, 2014

* U.S.: Cuban-born slugger José Abreu was unanimously selected as the American League Rookie of the Year following a stellar season where he batted .317 with 36 home runs and 107 RBI.

* Peru: Production in Peru’s vital copper industry has been affected by an indefinite strike that started yesterday at the country’s Antamina mine.

* Colombia: An ex-drug smuggling pilot testified in court that former capo Pablo Escobar allegedly framed a British businessman imprisoned since 1986 on murder charges.

* Brazil: FIFA will create a $100 million development fund for Brazil months after the soccer’s global governing body earned more than $4 billion in sales from the World Cup.

Video Source – MLB via YouTube

Online Sources – USA TODAY; Reuters; The Guardian; Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: September 15, 2014

* Mexico: Hurricane Odile swept through parts of the Baja California peninsula early this morning with 125 mile per hour winds and dumping a “mind-boggling” eleven inches of rain in the span of an hour.

* Cuba: Some 165 Cuban medical professionals will be sent to parts of Africa ravaged by a deadly Ebola outbreak.

* Brazil: FIFA admitted that senior officials with the world soccer governing body illegally received Swiss watches worth $25,000 after arriving in Brazil for this year’s World Cup.

* Colombia: The extradition process between Colombia and the U.S. has been called into question when a recently released “humble carpenter” was mistaken for a drug smuggler and held in prison for six months.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube 

Online Sources – NBC News; Associated Press; GlobalPost; InSight Crime

Daily Headlines: July 15, 2014

* Cuba: Cuban authorities arrested at least ninety members of the Ladies in White protest movement over the weekend who were commemorating the deaths of thirty-seven migrants who died a sea in 1994.
 
* U.S.: Germany’s World Cup final win over Argentina was the most watched soccer match in U.S. television history with an estimated 26.5 million people viewing ABC and Univision.

* Mexico: President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law a major telecommunications reform that he claimed, “will promote greater competition, more and better conditions, better coverage and service quality, as well as lower prices and costs.”

* Argentina: Argentine companies and provinces are reportedly hopeful that an agreement can be reached between debtors and the government before the end of the month.

Video Source – Reuters via YouTube (Cuba’s Ladies in White protesters participating in a 2010 march).

Online Sources – UPI; Fox News Latino; The Latin Americanist; Businessweek; Reuters

Today’s Video – Challenging the Champs

The German men’s national team steamrolled past host country Brazil en route to the fourth World Cup title in the squad’s history.  Their next matchup in Brazil might not be against Neymar and company but could be against a side with plenty of heart and determination.

The TECHO Latin American nongovernment organization has organized a social media campaign seeking a match between the World Cup champions and a team from Sao Paulo’s Anita Garibaldi slum.

The goal behind supporting a match between the Anita Fútbol Club and this year's World Cup titleholder is to call attention to the extreme poverty experienced by millions of people throughout Latin America. As a result, the organization has allegedly sent a letter to the head of the German soccer federation inviting Die Mannschaft to play against the Anita favela side.

“(Germany) was the team that played the best in the World Cup and they helped Brazil by building their own training center,” said Anita player and community leader Elvis Vieira.

It’s unknown of Germany will accept the invitation but Vieira and his teammates have undergone extra workouts with the hope that they could perhaps lineup against the likes of Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer and Philipp Lahm.

“We used to train only on Saturdays and Sundays.  The community has always supported us and now even more so,” added Vieira.

In the following video via TECHO, sixteen-year-old Anita player Lucas observes how soccer serves as a welcome diversion from the difficulties he faces residing in the favela:

Daily Headlines: July 14, 2014

* Colombia: Colombian James Rodriguez became the third South American player since 1978 to win the Golden Boot Award as top scorer at the World Cup.

* Argentina: Visiting Russian president Vladimir Putin backed Argentina’s claim to the Falklands and also signed a nuclear energy cooperation pact with his counterpart, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
 
* Peru: Peruvian officials claimed that their country could double their copper production by 2016 and surpass China as the world’s second-largest producer of the metal.

* Brazil: The BRICS group of developing countries that includes Brazil will reportedly launch its own development bank that could curb the influence of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Video Source – Richard Swarbrick via YouTube
 
Online Sources – USA TODAY; euronews; The West Australian; mining.com

Argentina Falls in World Cup Final Match

Chris Wondolowski’s shot above the crossbar against Belgium. Mauricio Pinilla’s attempt ringing the goalpost in extra time against Brazil. Michael Arroyo not pulling the trigger late versus the Swiss. There were numerous missed opportunities at this year’s World Cup though none may have been bigger than the squandered chances by Argentina in their narrow 1-0 loss to Germany in the title match.

In the 29th minute, Gonzalo Higuain received the ball in space following a defensive lapse by the German backline but he mishit and his shot rolled woefully wide of the goal.  Minutes later, Higuain found the back of the net yet his celebration was cut short as the goal was called back for a clear offsides.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi also wasted several opportunities in the final match played at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium.  In the early minutes of the second half, La Pulga was alone in front of goal with only German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to beat however he dragged a poor shot low and wide.  Messi’s teammate, Rodrigo Palacio, was also alone in front of Neuer in extra time but has chip ended harmless to the right of the German netminder.

It took until the 113th minute for the scoreless deadlock to be broken when Mario Götze scored from a sharp angle past Sergio Romero’s net.

Messi, who netted a late game-winner in group play against Iran and assisted Ángel di María’s gamewinner in the second round versus Switzerland, was fouled in injury time of the second extra period.  He took it upon himself to try for the equalizer from about thirty years away from goal but his shot sailed high and wide. Two minuets later the final whistle blew and Germany won the World Cup for the fourth time in team history.

Following the match numerous Argentine players such as Messi, who was named as the best player of the World Cup, couldn’t hide their dejection.