Daily Headlines: December 28, 2012

* Brazil: Doctors In Brazil who previously had to notify officials of patients who developed AIDS will now need to inform authorities of all HIV cases.

* Latin America: Could Latin America’s “culture of family, support, and living a life to spend time with your family” explain why some countries in the region are at the top of a global happiness index?

* Colombia: The son of a former Colombian senator and ambassador filed a civil lawsuit in Florida against the South American country’s two main guerilla groups.

* Argentina: In a setback for the government the Argentine Supreme Court backed an injunction protecting media giant Grupo Clarin from being partially broken up.

Video Source – YouTube via user 1818video (Excerpt from a Frontline documentary, possibly “Sick Around the World” from 2008).

Online Sources- USA TODAY, CNN, ABC News, Christian Science Monitor

Daily Headlines: December 27, 2012

* Nicaragua: Over 300 families have been evacuated due to increased activity from the San Cristobal volcano.

* Guatemala: In remarks made days after the murders of a federal prosecutor and six other people Attorney General Claudia Paz said that drug gangs have infiltrated the Guatemalan justice system.

* Brazil: Police and health officials claimed that Brazil is undergoing a crack epidemic with use of the drug booming over the past six years.

* Argentina: The country’s top penal court dismissed a case against ex-president Fernando De la Rua over his decision in 2001 to declare a state of siege during a major economic crisis.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- UPI, New York Times, Hispanically Speaking News, NPR, Huffington News

Daily Headlines: December 26, 2012

* El Salvador: Leaders of street gangs including the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha backed a plan declaring ten municipalities free of violence.

* Puerto Rico: The U.S. Justice Department and Puerto Rico's government signed an agreement aimed at reforming the island’s corrupt police department.

* Venezuela: Vice President Nicolas Maduro claimed that President Hugo Chavez is “up and walking” following recent cancer surgery in Cuba.

* Argentina: Sales of livestock will be suspended for twenty-four hours as part of a protest by farmers against the government.

Video Source – YouTube via Voice of America (Video uploaded in May 2012).

Online Sources- IPS, Fox News Latino, VOXXI, Huffington Post

Today's Video: Away in a Manger

Numerous Christmas traditions have been observed through Latin America and the Caribbean this month.  In Peru, for instance, children have received gifts and hot chocolate drinks as part of the las chocolatadas while Mexicans and Central Americas participated in las posadas.

Another typical celebration throughout the region are the use of pesebres, which are depictions of the biblical Nativity scene with Mary and Joseph welcoming the birth of the Baby Jesus in the manger.  Beyond this, the design of the pesebre is up to the eye of their creator and vary in the materials used, the decorations surrounding the manger, and the overall size.  (As Washington Times columnist Mario Salazar described, pesebres are a "mini universe in which anything was allowed.")

A 20,000 square meter site in Bogota, Colombia is vying to be the world's biggest pesebre.  The pesebre is a replica of ancient Bethlehem and includes thousands of figurines,  replicas of Bilbical-era homes and dozens of animatronic figures and actors.

 

The mega-pesebre in Bogota is based on a similar project exhibited in Mexico last year, which can be appreciated in the below video:

The massive Mexican pesebre received over 2.1 million visitors and was recognized with four Guinness World Records.

Daily Headlines: December 25, 2012

* Uruguay: President Jose Mujica requested last week that legislators delay voting on a proposal that would legalize and regulate marijuana use.

* Colombia: Peace talks held in Cuba between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government have been put on hold until January 14th.

* Argentina: Former minister Jaime Smart became the first civilian to be sentenced for crimes against humanity committed during the repressive Dirty War era.

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa proposed raising the minimum wage by 9% so that workers can receive a “dignified salary”.

Video Source – YouTube via the Washington Office on Latin America 

Online Sources- BBC News, Fox News Latino, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor

Daily Headlines: December 24, 2012

* South America: The risk of eruption from the Copahue volcano led Chile to issue a maximum red alert and Argentina to warn residents of local villages to closely monitor the situation.

* Mexico: Several thousand supporters of the Zapatista National Liberation Army marched in southern Mexico in order to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the Acteal massacre.

* Spain: Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi scored in Barcelona's 3-1 victory and, thus, finished 2012 with ninety-one goals in all competitions.

* Brazil: According to new government data the number of murders in Sao Paulo last month increased by 71% compared to November 2011.

Video Source – YouTube via user abccolor
 
Online Sources- AFP, Sacramento Bee, ESPN Soccernet, LAHT

Costa Rica: Security Chief Suggests Firearms Ban

In the week since the Newtown massacre one of the main worries is how to prevent another mass shooting from occurring.  Could gun control measures such as the reinstatement of an assault weapons ban help?  Are placing more arms in schools and creating a “national database of the mentally ill” sensible or silly? Might reforming the U.S. mental health system help lessen violence?

This week Costa Rican Security Minister Mario Zamora suggested that banning all types of firearms could help diminish violence in the U.S.

“If less firearms are available for the population there will be a lower possibility that they will be used,” he said when asked in a radio interview about his views on the Newtown massacre.

“Human beings may enter in a state of violent emotion and they will react based on what is at their reach,” noted Zamora who also deemed as “erroneous” the belief that greater arms ownership is a solution to combating violence.

According to the U.S. State Department “crime is a significant concern for Costa Ricans and visitors alike,” and the agency advises tourists to exercise the same level of caution that would be used “in major cities or tourist areas” in the U.S.  Nevertheless the homicide rate dropped by 10% in 2011, which Zamora attributed in part to Costa Rica’s gun control laws.

Daily Headlines: December 21, 2012

* Mexico: According to the Propuesta Civica organization at least 20,851 people including over 1200 children under age eleven have gone missing in Mexico over the past six years.

* U.S.: The Justice Department filed a suit against a South Carolina sheriff accused of discriminating against Latinos including ordering officers to “go out there and get me some of those taco eaters.”

* Peru: Proceedings began this week in the trial of Shining Path rebel leader Florindo Eleuterio Flores, alias Comrade Artemio.

* Costa Rica: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Costa Rica should overturn its ban on in vitro fertilization.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- ABC News, Washington Post, Tico Times, Kansas City Star

Daily Headlines: December 20, 2012

* Nicaragua: A Nicaraguan judge convicted on money laundering and drug trafficking charges eighteen Mexicans who posed as journalists working for Televisa. 

* U.S.: Family members and close associates of the late musician Jenni Rivera praised her in a “graduation to heaven” memorial service yesterday in Los Angeles.

* Venezuela: Did Miss Venezuela Irene Sofia Esser Quintero’s choice to not use a translator in the Q&A segment cost her the Miss Universe crown?

* Ecuador: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to speak later today from the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has resided in for the past six months.

Video Source – YouTube via user PrensaLatinaTV (Video uploaded in October 2012).

Online Sources- CNN, BBC News, Huffington Post, CBC News

Daily Headlines: December 19, 2012

* Paraguay: Amnesty International called on authorities to look into the “potential responsibility of police” involved in June land clashes that led to the ouster of then-President Fernando Lugo.

* U.S.: Fans and loved ones of recently deceased musician Jenni Rivera are expected to attend a memorial service today in Los Angeles.

* Latin America: Five Latin American countries including Colombia and Ecuador surpassed eighteenth-placed Brazil in the latest FIFA soccer rankings.

* Mexico: At least seventeen people died in an attempted prison break yesterday in the northern Durango state.

Today's Video: From Copacabana to Connecticut

On Wednesday we'll discuss the aftermath of the recent massacre of twenty-seven people including twenty children in Newtown, Connecticut.

The mass killings that took place last Friday have led to all sorts of reactions worldwide such as  messages of condolence from heads of state, signs of support from European soccer players and prayers from students in Edmonton, Canada.

On the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil a simple and poignant memorial was created in remembrance of all those who died in the Newtown massacre.

The tribute from the Rio de Paz (River of Peace) group is reportedly a sign of solidarity to those affected by the massacre and a call to greater arms control in both Brazil and the U.S.

Video Source - YouTube via user newdailyplanet2 (This video was taken from this euronews article).



Online Sources - CBS News, Los Angeles Times, Edmonton Journal, CNN  

Daily Headlines: December 18, 2012

* Mexico: New president Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled a six-point anti-crime plan that includes the creation of a paramilitary police force and combating corruption in law enforcement.

* U.S.: Hate crimes against Latinos dropped by 31% in 2011 according to a new report from the FBI.

* Ecuador: Several thousand villagers were evacuated as a result of increased risk of erupiton of the Tungurahua volcano.

* Argentina: On Monday the Argentine government began the process of breaking up the Clarin media conglomerate.

Video Source – YouTube via Milenio 

Online Sources- UPI, KPBS, ABC Online, Mercopress

Daily Headlines: December 17, 2012

* Venezuela: Defeated opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles was reelected as Merida state governor though the ruling Socialist Party won twenty of twenty-three states.

* Cuba: Will the Cuban government expand its radio and television ban on reggaeton to other genres of music?

* Brazil: Corinthians of Brazil beat England’s Chelsea 1-0 in World Club Cup final and, thus, became the first from South America team to win the competition since 2006.

* Argentina: The International Monetary Fund could expel Argentina from the organization after failing to meet an inflation deadline.

Today's Video: Telenovelas for Change

Several days ago Bolivian president Evo Morales blasted Facebook and telenovelas for "harming" the country's youth.

"I've recently noticed something that is harming our students: the telenovelas.  They have the right to watch them but we cannot have telenovelas air all afternoon, all night, and throughout the morning," said Morales.

It's debatable as to whether or not Morales is correct about the influence of telenovelas on young people.  But there have been occasions when these programs have led to social change such as in Argentina where one telenovela helped identify a child put up for illegal adoption during the "Dirty War" period.  In Brazil, meanwhile, televised soap operas were credited by researchers with lowering fertility rates.       

The following video is the first part of a documentary that analyzed Nicraguan telenovela "Sexto Sentido" ("Sixth Sense").  The popular hit program tackled serious issues such as domestic violence and homosexuality, and the documentary showed how the writers, actors and viewers grappled with these controversial themes:

Daily Headlines: December 14, 2012

* Latin America: Attorneys representing Chile and Peru are expected to end their arguments today in a border dispute case being heard at the International Court of Justice.

* Guatemala: Wanted software guru John McAfee admitted that he faked two heart attacks in order to “buy some time” in Guatemala before he was deported to the U.S. on Wednesday.

* Cuba: Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla, the foreign minister of Cuba, said that his country’s government supports Iran’s nuclear plans.

* Brazil: Ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was aware of bribes paid out to legislators as part of the “mensalao” corruption scandal according to new allegations.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Businessweek, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, PRESS TV

Copa Sudamericana Ends in Controversy

“The Beautiful Game” is a synonym often associated with the beauty of soccer such as Lionel Messi’s record setting 88 goals this year or the Xolos of Tijuana winning the Mexican soccer league in only their fifth year of existence.  That saying unfortunately cannot be to the decisive game of the Copa Sudamericana soccer tournament on Wednesday night.

Officials with CONMEBOL (the Spanish abbreviation for the South American Football Confederation) announced that they would investigate allegations of violence during the match between visitors Argentina's Tigre and Sao Paulo of Brazil.  Members of Tigre refused to leave their dressing room after halftime due to an alleged attack by a gang of twenty men.

“CONMEBOL will undertake an investigation in order to apply sanctions.  In the twenty-five years under the rule of (CONMEBOL) President Nicolás Leoz it’s the first time that such actions stained the good mage of South American soccer,” said CONMEBOL spokesman Néstor Benítez to the Associated Press.

Benítez also urged Brazilian police to provide a “detailed report” of the events at the Morumbi stadium when the match was abandoned with the home side leading 2-0 and after a brawl between both teams.

“They pulled two guns on us, the rest of the match is not going to be played,” claimed Tigre coach Nestor Gorosito to Fox Sports. 

“They ambushed us and one of them pulled out a revolver and put it against (goalkeeper) Damian Albil's chest. Their security and police also hit us, there were about 20 of them,” added Gorosito.

While the Tigre team stayed in their dressing room the referee signaled the end of the match.  Sao Paulo fans at the stadium celebrated the 2-0 aggregate victory while the players received the Copa Sudamericana from South American Football Confederation officials.

The jubilation may have been premature, however. Benítez claimed that Sao Paulo was “legally and irrefutably” declared the champions but he was contradicted by CONMEBOL Vice President Eugenio Figueredo.