Daily Headlines: October 14, 2015

* Mexico: A recently released report from the Mexican Attorney General ‘s office on the 43 missing Ayotzinapa students has shown numerous contradictions with the results of the official probe.

* Latin America: Three people died and fourteen inmates escaped from a Brazilian prison during a riot, while four suspected gang members died during an uprising in a Salvadoran correctional facility.

* Colombia: U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Kevin Whitaker said that his country will not push for the extradition of FARC rebel commanders though Washington will seek alleged criminals.

* U.S: A new Nielsen study found that Latinos over the age of fifty are growing in numbers, represent a burgeoning consumer base and are healthier than initially believed.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English (Thousands of marchers took to the streets of Mexico city last month on the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students.)
 
Online Sources – Tico Times, oneindia, Fox News Latino, BBC News, Latina Lista

Daily Headlines: August 15, 2013

* Ecuador: Edwin Johnson, Ecuador’s ambassador to Egypt, was recalled back to his homeland as a wave of political violence throughout the Northern African country has left at least 525 people dead.

* Guatemala: An international delegation of labor union members warned that Guatemala could lose its preferential trade status with the U.S. and E.U. due to violence against workers’ rights activists.

* Bolivia: Is Bolivian goat herder Carmelo Flores really 123-years-old and, therefore, the world’s oldest person?

* Cuba: Immigration officials reportedly refused to allow entry into Cuba of Blanca Reyes, the European representative of the political dissident group the Ladies in White.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources- Bernama; Reuters; GlobalPost; Irish Times; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: March 28, 2012

* Latin America: Latin America’s elderly population is expected to increase over the next few decades and overcome the number of children in the region by 2040 according to the U.N.

* Venezuela: A new poll showed that President Hugo Chavez has a double-digit lead over Henrique Capriles though a sizeable number of respondents remain undecided.

* U.S.: A study by the human rights group Amnesty International USA found that Latino residents in the border area near Mexico “are disproportionately affected by a range of immigration-control measures, resulting in a pattern of human rights violations.”

* Dominican Republic: Police arrested six suspected members of a local Anonymous group accused of infiltrating the websites of the government and private companies.

Image Source – Flickr via Inti (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- LAHT, euronews, Reuters, Dominican Today

Report: Mexican income gap among OECD’s worst

Question: what do the U.S. and Mexico have in common besides a common border?

Answer: Vast income inequality and high poverty rates.

Only two of 30 nations, Mexico and Turkey, are ahead of the United States for income inequality and poverty rates, or the gap between rich and poor, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report was released by Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development of its 30 member-nations, most of which are developed countries.

In terms of Mexico, the OECD study found income gaps shrinking over the past five years. Yet 22% of children and nearly 30% of Mexicans over the age of 65 live in households with an income below the poverty line. Furthermore, the average income of the poorest 10% is approximately 25 times less than the top 10%.

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria warned that governments in developed and underdeveloped countries must be more active against the problems of inequality. “Growing inequality is divisive. It polarizes societies, it divides regions within countries, and it carves up the world between rich and poor," he said.

Image- Diario La Verdad
Sources- Bloomberg, ft.com, AFP, AHN

Daily Headlines: July 25, 2008

* Mexico: Hurricane Dolly may’ve weakened to a tropical storm yesterday but that didn’t stop the storm from causing flooding in parts of northern Mexico and possible flooding in the Rio Grande Valley.

* Peru: Patriotism vs. morality – Peruvians are split over a magazine cover with a nude model photographed on top of the national flag.

* Latin America: Columnist Marcela Sanchez looks at the difficulties of being elderly and living in Latin America.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez signed several energy and trade deals with his counterpart from Belarus, “a fellow fierce critic of the United States.”

Image- New York Times (“Gregoria Lopez sought shelter from the hurricane in Brownsville, Texas.”)

Sources- washingtonpost.com, BBC News, Reuters, AFP