Daily Headlines: November 17, 2015

* Venezuela: Recent polls show that the opposition would more than likely retake the Venezuelan legislature following Congressional elections on December 6th.

* Latin America: Several hundred protesters in Rio de Janeiro marched last week against a proposal to restrict abortions in Brazil, while a conservative backlash is sounding off against a plan to legalize first trimester abortions in Colombia.

* Argentina: A $15 billion agreement was reached on Sunday that would allow China to build two nuclear power plants in Argentina.

* U.S.: The number of students from Latin American and the Caribbean enrolled in U.S. universities jumped by 19% last year to 86,378 according to a new survey.

YouTube Source – euronews (Video uploaded on July 2015).
 
Online Sources – Folha.com, U.S. News & World Report, Christian Science Monitor, MercoPress, Vice News

Daily Headlines: April 24, 2012

* Brazil: The country’s lower house of Congress is expected later today to approval a controversial environmental proposal that critics claim would lead to increased deforestation.

* Latin America: The Universidade de Sao Paulo, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil are Latin America’s top three universities according to a new study.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chávez broke his nine-day public silence on Monday night after speaking by phone to Venezuelan state television from Cuba.

* Mexico: Shares of Wal-Mart tumbled by almost 5% yesterday after it was reported over the weekend that execs tried to cover-up an investigation into bribery allegations in Mexico.

Image Source – Flickr via nsub1 (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Fox News Latino, Bernama, The Guardian, CNBC.com

Daily Headlines: October 7, 2011

* Brazil: Brazil’s Sao Paulo University, Chile's Catholic University, and Brazil's Campinas State University topped the first ever QS list ranking Latin American universities.

* Latin America: A U.N. report blamed organized crime for a surge in violence in Central America while the International Press Institute denounced death threats against twelve Latin American journalists.

* Mexico: Authorities rescued thirty-eight U.S.-bound migrants who were reportedly abandoned in the desert near the Mexican border with Arizona.

* Venezuela: Ex-President Carlos Andres Perez was buried in Venezuela after a bitter legal battle among his family members since he died last December.

Image – Flickr via user Jefferson.Rodrigues

Online Sources- Bernama, MercoPress, NPR, MSNBC, BBC News

Nike targeted for Honduran labor abuses

Several months ago, clothing manufacturer Russel Athletic (RA) was targeted by several university student groups after being accused of unfair labor practices in Honduras. The University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and Purdue University were some of the schools who cut ties with RA over allegations such as threatening workers who wanted to unionize.

Some students at the University of Washington who campaigned against RA have now set their sights on another clothing firm: Nike.

The student group that led a successful effort to end the University of Washington's apparel-licensing contract with the Russell Corp. is at it again -- this time protesting a contract with Nike.

The Student Labor Action Project organized a rally Thursday of nearly 100 people with banners, chants and bagpipes to march through campus and into the UW president's office. When they reached the door, they got an unexpected response: President Mark Emmert was out of the country...

SLAP and the national Workers Rights Consortium contend factory owners are withholding $1.5 million in severance payments to workers at two shut-down Honduran factories that produced, among other things, Nike apparel featuring UW logos...

Regarding the current case involving Nike, the UW advisory committee is waiting for a Workers Rights Consortium report on the two Honduran factories: Huggar de Honduras and Vision Tex. The committee's goal, Arkans said, is to get the $1.5 million in severance money to the laid-off workers.

Image- cnet news
Online Sources- seattlepi.com, The Latin Americanist

Russell Athletic loses schools over unfair labor moves

Over the past month, apparel manufacturer Russell Athletic has lost its contracts with several U.S. universities over allegedly unfair labor practices in Central America.

The University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and Purdue University are just a few of the schools who had or will soon have their licensing rights with the Atlanta-based clothing manufacturer cut.

Their actions are based on a November report by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)- a labor-rights monitoring group representing 185 colleges and universities. According to the WRC, Russell engaged in unfair labor practices at their Honduras plants which included threatening workers who wanted to unionize. A January report by another workers rights group backed the WRC’s findings; thus, setting in action the chain of schools cancelling licenses with Russell.

A statement by Russell execs denied the anti-labor charges:

"The decision was not related to the unionization of that plant. In fact, we had recognized the unionization of that plant even before the global slowdown, on Oct. 3, 2007. Given that fact, the claim that we were engaged in anti-union activity in closing the plant is clearly false."

Not all WRC-affiliated schools have cut ties with Russell; Princeton University officials decided this week to keep their merchandising deal.

Image- teamoutfitters.net
Online Sources- Minnesota Public Radio, BusinessWeek, MSNBC, ajc.com, The Daily Princetonian, mndaily.com, Journal & Courier,