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: August 18, 2011

* Latin America: Numerous top Israeli diplomats have allegedly traveled to several Latin American countries in order to discourage support for the creation of a Palestinian state.

* Central America: Diplomatic tensions between neighbors Costa Rica and Nicaragua over Calero Island could be reignited due to rumors of a recent incursion into the disputed territory.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez announced that he would pull $11 billion in Venezuelan gold reserves from foreign banks.

* Brazil: According to a “preliminary analysis of satellite photos” deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased by 15% between July 2010 and July of this year.

Image – Reuters (“Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks to the media before the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 17, 2011.” Lieberman was one of numerous top Israeli diplomats that have reportedly traveled recently to Latin America in order to drum up opposition to Palestinian statehood).
Online Sources- insidecostarica.com, The Latin Americanist, AFP, CNN

Video of the Day: “El gran chaman”

There are numerous reasons why the Amazonian rainforest needs to be preserved; one of them is the large number of medicinal plants found there and can be used to cure diseases in the developed world.

In the following clip from the National Geographic Channel, a Paraguayan shaman shows how he seeks one type of plant that is used to treat various ailments.

(Video link):

(By the way, here’s the song that is referenced to by the title to this post).

Source- YouTube, seeklyrics.com

Daily Headlines: August 15, 2007

* Was 1992 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Rigoberta Menchu discriminated against by Cancun hotel personnel?

* Yale University promised to give back artifacts from Peru’s Machu Picchu that were taken by U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham nearly a century ago.

* Amazon rainforest deforestation has gone down by 25% according to figures from the Brazilian government.

* Colombian ambassador to the U.S. Carolina Barco claimed that the U.S. will cut aid to the Andean country by about 10%.

* The Cuban-born daughter of “Che” Guevara became a nationalized Argentine citizen over the weekend.

* Follow-up: Actor Mel Gibson dined with Guatemalan president Oscar Berger approximately one month after meeting with Costa Rica’s head of state.

Sources- Monsters & Critics, Newsday, ABC Online, People’s Daily Online, Melbourne Herald Sun, TIME, The Latin Americanist

Image- Cambio Sonora

Daily Headlines: June 05, 2007

* Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has asked the international community to come up with a plan to compensate Ecuador from drilling for oil in rainforest areas (image).

* So what do you think of this headline: silly or stupid?

* A man was killed by a tiger and lion kept on the roof of a Mexico City wholesaler.

* Colombia’s government said that it would repay ahead of time a $500 million debt with several international financial entities.

* Pope Benedict XVI and Mexican President Felipe Calderon met at the Vatican City yesterday, though it was a group of invited children that stole the attention of onlookers. (Hat tip: Hispanic Tips).

* Despite a decline in births in New York City, new data is showing a “baby boom” amongst children born to Mexican immigrants there.

Sources- Christian Science Monitor, Guardian UK, Catholic News Service, Hispanic Tips, New York Times, Sportsnet.ca, Reuters

Image- Telegraph.co.uk