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: October 25, 2016

* Bolivia: A new scientific report found that glaciers in Bolivia have shrunk by 43% from 1986 to 2014 and “glacier recession is leaving lakes that could burst and wash away villages or infrastructure downstream.”

* Brazil: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer agreed to pay $205 million and officially claim responsibility in order to settle numerous corruption investigations in Brazil and the United States.

* Haiti: According to the United Nations heavy rainfall over the last few days has impeded the distribution of food and medicinal aid to areas of Haiti devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

* United States: An “unprecedented” number of Latinos have reportedly cast their ballots in early voting in Florida but is this a sign of a large Latino turnout on Election Day in two weeks time?

YouTube Source – Deutsche Welle (Video uploaded in 2010).

Online Sources – Science Daily, Xinhua, The Atlantic, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: October 17, 2016

* United States: A poll of likely Latino voters conducted last week has respondents giving Hillary Clinton a fifty point cushion over Donald Trump in a four-way race for the United States presidency.

* Honduras: The White House gave the green light for $55 million in aid to Honduras despite reservations by the Obama administration over rampant corruption and narcotrafficking.

* Ecuador: “I cannot disclose any information,” said a contact at the Ecuadoran embassy in London when asked if internet access to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was purportedly cut off.

* Puerto Rico: A new federal oversight board monitoring Puerto Rico’s public finances granted themselves more powers, while outgoing governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla warned that the commonwealth could face a $59 billion public debt over the next ten years.

YouTube Source – PBS NewsHour 

Online Sources – Bloomberg, Fox News Latino, BBC News, Politico

Daily Headlines: September 30, 2016

* Brazil: Children's rights groups urged the International Olympic Committee to compensate minors who they claim were victims of police violence during the Rio Olympics and the security crackdown prior to the games held in August.

* Cuba: The campaign of United States (US) presidential candidate Donald Trump is under fire over alleged secret and illicit business dealings with Cuba’s government in 1998, while the Cuban state media blasted “subversive” US-funded programs.

* United States: The OneOrlando Fund commenced distribution this week of donations to some of the families and survivors of the June 12th massacre during a Latino-themed night at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando.

* Venezuela: Representatives of thirty countries led by Paraguay at the Untied Nations Human Rights Council called for a “timely and effective dialogue” in Venezuela and advocated the freeing of all political prisoners.

YouTube Source – ITV News (Uploaded on August 2, 2016: “As battles between security forces and drugs gangs rage ahead of the Rio Olympics, innocent bystanders are getting caught in the crossfire.”)
 
Online Sources – BBC Sport, Newsweek, McClatchy, Latina, Reuters

Daily Headlines: September 23, 2016

* United States: A new report estimated that one million Latinos are expected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease by 2030, which could lead to a cash crunch for families who “are among the least resourced to deal with the financial demand Alzheimer's places on households and on family caregivers.”

* Brazil: Brazilian officials unveiled a controversial education reform that would ironically drop physical education as an obligatory subject in high school despite the national fervor caused by the recent Olympics and Paralympics competitions in Rio de Janeiro.

* Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan government strongly rejected a proposal being considered by the United States (US) Congress that would prevent the Central American country from receiving international loans unless political reforms are made.

* Cuba: Several Latin American leaders at the United Nations General Assembly including the business-friendly presidents of Mexico and Peru called for the elimination of the US trade embargo. 

YouTube Source – National Council of La Raza

Online Sources – NBC News, Xinhua, Retuers, The Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: May 16, 2016

* Venezuela: A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that his country, which has given Venezuela about $50 billion in financing since 2007, views the South American state’s economic crisis as a domestic matter but did not specifically mention if more aid will be provided.

* Argentina: President Mauricio Macri may be seen as “business-friendly” but that hasn’t stopped him from siding with farmers in a dispute that could lead to Monsanto removing its biotech soybean seeds from Argentina.

* Colombia: The Colombian government and FARC took a big step towards a final, full peace deal after the rebels pledged to free all solders under the age of 15 years.

* Dominican Republic: Danilo Medina is expected to easily win a second straight term as president of the Dominican Republic following an election marred by problems with new technology at voting stations.

YouTube Source – euronews (“Opposition protesters have rallied in Caracas. Their calls to remove the Venezuelan president are taking on a more urgent tone.”)
 
Online Sources – New York Daily News, euronews, Buenos Aires Herald, ABC Online, Reuters

Daily Headlines: February 5, 2016

* Colombia: U.S. President Barack Obama proposed increasing foreign aid to Colombia by more than 50% to around $450 million in order to help end “half a century of wrenching conflict” in the Latin American country.

* Peru: The odds of Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of imprisoned former leader Alberto Fujimori, winning Peru’s presidential election in April could become stronger with the possible disqualification of two campaign rivals.

* Brazil: The first Palestinian Authority embassy in the Americas was inaugurated this week in the Brazilian capital city of Brasilia.

* Venezuela: A congressional plan to free political dissidents has become the newest battleground issue in the acrimonious relations between the Venezuelan government and the opposition.

YouTube Source – AFP
 
Online Sources – Reuters, Forward, Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: March 1, 2013

* Latin America: Will the Vatican agree with attendees at a recent Brazilian bishops' conference and elect a Pope from Latin America?

* U.S.: The sequestration cuts expected to go into effect today could hit Latin America’s economies hard and affect tourism into the region.

* Venezuela: A recent poll found that 57% of Venezuelans believe that President Hugo Chávez will recover and defeat the cancer hurting him.

* Guatemala: President Otto Perez Molina urged the U.S. government to grant Temporary Protected Status to about 700,000 undocumented Guatemalans.

Daily Headlines: September 26, 2012

* Mexico: Trade unions and the #YoSoy132 student movement are among the groups protesting against a labor reform proposal backed by President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto.

* Haiti: According to the U.N. a little more than half of the approximately $5.33 billion pledged at a donors' conference after Haiti's 2010 earthquake has been disbursed.

* Ecuador: Several U.S. business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers called on the White House to cut trade benefits to Ecuador.

* Peru: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged Peruvian officials to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that could’ve led to an early release of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Video Source – YouTube via Milenio

Online Sources- MSNBC, Washington Post, Reuters, Mercopress

Daily Headlines: August 13, 2012

* Honduras: The U.S. government will withhold part of its funding to Honduran law enforcement due to human rights concerns regarding the Central American country’s police chief.

* Venezuela: Does President Hugo Chavez really have “proof” that rival Henrique Capriles belonged in his youth to a neo-Nazi group or is he slandering his opponent of Jewish background?

* U.S.: The MundoFox television network, owned by News Corporation and Colombia’s RCN, was officially launched this morning.

* Mexico: The country’s Navy reportedly captured a man linked to a drug gang and suspected of being involved in the May murders of four journalists.

Video Source – YouTube via videosproceso (Honduran police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla, seen here after being named to the post last May, may be linked to death squads that operated roughly a decade ago.)

Online Sources- Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: March 23, 2012 (Updated)

* Mexico: “We must do everything possible to fight this evil which destroys our young,” said Pope Benedict XVI in reference to drug gangs that have hurt Mexico. (Update: After arriving in Leon, Mexico on Friday afternoon, the Pope said that he was praying for all the victims of the country's violence "particularly those who suffer because of old and new rivalries.")

* Ecuador: Over 1000 protesters opposed to large-scale mining projects arrived in Quito yesterday where government supporters also held their own rally.

* Argentina: Argentine officials urged the New York and London stock markets to warn investors that five oil exploration firms are “working illegally” off the shores of the Falklands.

* Guatemala: The Guatemalan defense minister called on the renewal of U.S. military aid that had been cut off in 1990 due military abuses in the Central American country’s civil war.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press (“Pope Benedict departed Italy on Friday. He is scheduled to visit Mexico and Cuba.”)

Online Sources (including Update) - AFP, The Latin Americanist, euronews, InSight Crime, Sydney Morning Herald

Daily Headlines: March 15, 2012

* Cuba: A group of thirteen dissidents occupied a Catholic church in Havana and have called on Pope Benedict XVI to push for political freedom in Cuba.

* Peru: At least three people were killed during clashes between police and protesters opposed to a government crackdown on illegal mining.

* Mexico: A U.N. commission concluded that authorities have failed to properly investigate thousands of “forced disappearances” in Mexico over the past five years.

* Honduras: A letter signed by ninety-four members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the U.S. to suspend foreign aid to Honduras.

Image Source – YouTube via romereports.com (Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the archbishop of Havana, was allowed to appear on Cuban state TV in anticipation of Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit to Cuba.)

Online Sources- MSNBC, Reuters, Houston Chronicle, WBEZ

World Watch: Advancing

* Libya: While rebels continue to make leeway in Tripoli the U.S. proposed that the U.N. Security Council unfreeze $1.5 billion in Libyan assets for humanitarian purposes.

* Sudan: The Sudanese army was accused of killing anti-government opponents after satellite images revealed freshly dug mass graves near the border with South Sudan.

* U.S.: Apple cofounder Steve Jobs resigned from his post as company CEO after claiming that he “could no longer meet my duties and expectations.”

* World: Researchers concluded that the climate changes such as those caused by El Niño could be a factor in civil conflicts.

Image – Hamza Turkia/XinHua/Xinhua Press/Corbis via The Guardian (“Rebels celebrate in Shuhada Square as they capture Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli. Other rebel fighters are advancing to (Gaddafi's hometown of) Sirte.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, The Telegraph, The Independent, BBC News, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: June 23, 2011

* Central America: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged that her country would send $300 million in aid to combat violence in Central America.

* Venezuela: The deaths of at least nineteen inmates in riots over the past several days should call attention to the need for prison reform in Venezuela according to Amnesty International.

* South America: Peruvian president-elect Ollanta Humala claimed that he “dreams” of the reunification of his country with neighboring Bolivia.

* Brazil: The “Brazilian arm” of hacker group LulzSec took down several websites yesterday including several government sites.

Image – AP via BBC News (”Hillary Clinton urged businesses in (Central America) to pull their weight in the fight against drug-related violence.”)
Online Sources- Amnesty International, PC World, Mercopress, CNN

Daily Headlines: June 1, 2011

* Cuba: According to a 2006 document unearthed by WikiLeaks, the U.S. government made plans for a “mass exodus” of Cubans in the event of Fidel Castro’s death.

* Central America: A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that he was “extremely concerned” over an increase in violence against public prosecutors.

* Brazil: The Senate approved a bill that would allow for the distribution of food to countries hurt by natural disasters and social unrest such as Bolivia and Haiti.

* Guatemala: A Spanish court approved the extradition of ex-Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann where he awaits trial on charges of murder.

Image – AP via BBC News (Fidel Castro, seated on the left, ruled Cuba for several decades until ceding the presidency to his brother, Raul, in 2008).
Online Sources- Press TV, AHN, People’s Daily Online, CNN

Daily Headlines: October 6, 2010

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales lost his cool at a friendly soccer match and gave new meaning to the idea of politicians “hitting below the belt”.

* Haiti: International charity group Oxfam alleged that post-earthquake foreign food aid has devastated the Haitian agriculture sector.

* Canada: Have “anti-terrorism laws” unfairly stacked the odds against a Salvadoran man living in Canada since 1996 and seeking refugee status?

* Cuba: According to reports State Department officials are working to repatriate most former Cuban political prisoners from Spain to the U.S.

Video Source – YouTube
Online Sources- CBC, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: September 2, 2010

* U.S.: According to the Pew Hispanic Center illegal immigration into the U.S. has plummeted since 2007, especially in immigrants from Latin American countries other than Mexico.

* Mexico: The government confirmed that a second migrant survived the massacre of 72 people last week at a Tamaulipas ranch.

* Cuba: In an interview this week Fidel Castro said that he was “responsible” for widespread discrimination against gays during his time in power.

* Bolivia: Iran loaned Bolivia over $250 million that could be used to “fund mineral exploration and the development of the textile industry.”

Image – AFP
Online Sources- Voice of America, AP, The Latin Americanist, CNN, BBC News

Daily Headlines: August 24, 2010

* Latin America: A tropical storm warning was put into effect for areas of Mexico’s pacific coast while roughly 600 Guatemalans were homeless due to a tropical wave (image).

* U.S.: Rest in peace Mario Obledo; the Latino civil rights leader and co-founder of MALDEF died last week at the age of 78 years.

* Brazil: Security for the upcoming World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics have come under renewed scrutiny after gunmen briefly invaded a luxury Rio de Janeiro hotel on Saturday.

* Central America: Would Central America benefit from a massive anti-drugs package similar to the Merida Initiative?

Image – EFE
Online Sources- Miami Herald, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, Fresno Bee, LAHT, CNN, Reuters

World Watch: Pakistan needs help!

* Pakistan: Relief for flood-ravaged Pakistan has been slow to arrive and the humanitarian situation could worsen according to several aid agencies.

* Iraq: At least sixty people were killed when a suicide bomber exploded near a military installation in Baghdad.

* Japan: The government could consider an additional stimulus that “is likely to involve reallocating funds rather than new spending.”

* Russia: A Romanian diplomat detained and charged with spying on Russia has been ordered to leave for his native country.

Image – The Guardian
Online Sources- MSNBC, Reuters, CNN, Bloomberg,

World Watch: The cutting edge

* Ethiopia: Scientists have discovered a set of bones that may have been used to cut meat 3.4 million years ago, nearly 80,000 years earlier than previously believed.

* North Korea: World soccer governing body FIFA will investigate alleged abuses against players and the coach of North Korea’s World Cup squad.

* Pakistan: U.N. officials are seeking $460 million in international aid for thousands of victims in flood-ravaged areas of Pakistan.

* Iraq: Eleven people including eight Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attacked by presumed insurgents.

Image – The Guardian
Online Sources- Voice of America, Globe and Mail, BBC News, Bloomberg