Blog entries Archive - Page 69 of 198

Obama To Visit Mexico and Costa Rica in Early May

The White House announced on Wednesday that U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Mexico and Costa Rica in the first week of May to “reinforce the deep cultural, familial and economic ties that so many Americans share with Mexico and Central America.” Among other issues, Obama plans to discuss immigration, citizen security and economic … Read more

Bachelet to Launch Second Presidential Bid

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is expected to announce her candidacy for president in the November election when she returns from the United States this morning, Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported on Tuesday. Bachelet, who served as president from 2006 to 2010, resigned from her position as under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women last … Read more

Saying “No” to Bush on Iraq: A Defining Moment for Canada

With March 20, 2013 representing the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, historians and journalists in both Canada and the United States have been assessing the wisdom of this historic decision. The Iraq War, due to its enormous costs in human, financial and material terms, has long fallen out of favor with the … Read more

Biggest Hunger Strike in Years Continues at Guantánamo Bay

More prisoners have joined a hunger strike that began on February 6 at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay. Striking prisoners say they are protesting more intrusive searches of their cells and open-ended confinement without charge. According to Navy Capt. Robert Durand, a spokesman for the prison, 28 out of 166 prisoners are on … Read more

Cuba’s Economic Changes Reflected in Havana’s Transportation Network

Havana’s bustling streets offer a wide variety of transportation options. In the old city overcrowded public buses and state-owned yellow taxis (usually Soviet-era Ladas or more recent Korean and Japanese imports) jostle with bicycle taxis, horse-drawn carriages, and cocotaxis—three-wheeled mopeds where the two rear passenger seats are half-enclosed in a garish yellow coconut-shaped plastic shell. … Read more

Transformaciones económicas en Cuba: lo que deben procurar

Las propuestas actuales de cambios económicos en Cuba han abierto una ventana inédita para discutir y eventualmente empezar a corregir algunas de las desproporciones más recurrentes en el devenir económico del país en las últimas décadas. Por primera vez en mucho tiempo, se ha hecho evidente la necesidad de prestar mayor atención hacia problemas estructurales … Read more

Mexico’s First Lady among the best dressed… and that’s about it for now

In a recent online article, Vanity Fair mentioned Angélica Rivera –wife of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto–among the top-10 best dressed first ladies in the world. The piece was innocent enough and not unlike the lighthearted articles usually included in this publication. And yet, the article caught wildfire and was highlighted in Mexico’s mainstream media … Read more

Ríos Montt Trial Tests Guatemala’s Justice System

After fourteen months of legal wrangling, the genocide trial of former Guatemalan President Efraín Ríos Montt began this week with oral presentations in court. The trial will make history, as Guatemala becomes the first country in Latin America to try a former leader for genocide—a move that has divided the legal community. Some classify the … Read more

This Pope Doesn’t Wear Prada

Everyone who is anyone from the political and religious world arrived in Rome this week to take part in a mass to coronate the Catholic Church’s newest leader, Pope Francis. At its pinnacle, cardinals and bishops in full regalia prayed in Latin while bells rang over St. Peter’s Basilica. It was one of the world’s … Read more

Inició juicio histórico en Guatemala

El juicio por genocidio y deberes contra la humanidad en contra de los ex-generales Efraín Ríos Montt y José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez dio inicio este martes, luego que la licenciada Jazmín Barrios, Jueza Presidenta del Tribunal A de Mayor Riesgo, resolviera de manera negativa varios recursos interpuestos por la defensa y declarara abierto el debate. … Read more

Discovering the Dream of a Cuba for all Cubans

Yoani Sánchez is known for her mordant accounts of the vicissitudes of life under a repressive government. Yet on Wednesday night, at an auditorium at Georgetown University simply adorned with a Cuban flag, I was inspired not only by the lyricism of her Spanish, but by her tone of reconciliation and hope. In wide-ranging remarks, … Read more

Brazilian Doctors Urge Senate to Relax Abortion Restrictions

Doctors in Brazil sparked debate yesterday when the Conselho Federal de Medicina (Federal Council of Medicine) published a petition endorsing the legalization of first-trimester abortions. The council, which represents approximately 400,000 doctors throughout the country, will submit the petition to a Senate commission that is reviewing several amendments to the country’s penal code. The document … Read more