Daily Headlines: February 17, 2014

* Argentina: Emiliano Lasalvia won a World Press Photo award in the Sports category for his image of a polo player falling underneath his horse.

* Latin America: Mexico City could become the latest Latin American area to decriminalize marijuana use while the Colombian government and FARC guerrilla might soon reach an agreement on drug trafficking.

* Haiti: Officials in Haiti will start an investigation into the deaths of human rights activist Daniel Dorsinvil and his wife who were gunned down on February 8th.

* Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff met with Brazilian land rights campaigners and pledged to make a new push for agrarian reform.

Video Source – Vimeo user elasalvia

Online Sources- LAHT; Reuters; Al Jazeera America; thesundaily; World Press Photo

LatAm photogs earn World Press Photo honors

Several Latin American photographers were among those who received first prize honors in the 2009 World Press Photo contest:

• Brazilian Luiz Vasconcelos won in the General News Singles category for his stirring photo of a Manaus woman desperately trying to avoid being evicted by police (image).
• Lissette Lemus of El Salvador was honored in the Daily Life Singles group for her photo stunning photo of children staring at a dead woman shot in the street.
• Walter Astrada of Argentina won in the Spot News category for his photo of a phalanx of demonstrators during post-election violence in Kenya.
• Chilean Carlos F. Gutierrez won in the Nature Singles category for his awe-inspiring photo of the erupting Chaiten volcano.
• Mexico’s Carlos Cazalis got top honors in the Contemporary Issues Stories division for his stark photo depicting homelessness in Sao Paulo.
  

The winning Latin American shutterbugs represented numerous agencies including Corbis, AFP, and Zuma Press.

Photo of the Year honors were given to Anthony Suau of the U.S. for his haunting snapshot of an Ohio sheriff creeping through a house abandoned after a foreclosure.

Image- AP
Online Sources- World Press Photo, Reuters, AP