Weekend Headlines: January 7-8, 2012

* Chile: Is the government correct or scapegoating Mapuche indigenous activists who are accused of intentionally setting off wildfires in central Chile?

* Argentina: According to a team of doctors President Cristina Kirchner did not have thyroid cancer as was originally diagnosed yet the “surgical treatment performed (last Wednesday) is sufficient.”

* Mexico: Authorities captured the supposed mastermind behind last year’s Casino Royale arson in Monterrey that killed fifty-people.

* U.S.: The Labor Department revealed yesterday that the unemployment rate for Latinos dropped by 0.4% last month to 11.0%.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR English

Online Sources- Bloomberg, NPR, Voice of America, Hispanically Speaking News

Italian arsonist extradited from Mexico

Mexican authorities extradited Enrico Carella to Italy for his role in the 1996 fire of Venice’s La Fenice opera house (image). The 37-year-old electrician was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2003 and was a fugitive until he was arrested in Quintana Roo earlier this year.

Links- Monsters & Critics, Guardian UK

Image- BBC News