Archive for Americas
BBC Americas News: 16 February 2009
February 16th, 2009 • Americas, BBC News, World
- Hard times
America’s favourite motorsport faces credit crunch impact - Cop for a day
Take command of New York’s finest - for a price - Woody’s war
Woody Harrelson on Iraq war movie The Messenger - Eternal revenue
How the US taxman gets you and never lets you go - Border beat
US turns to songs to deter illegal border crossings - Making a turn
US prisoners learn secrets of business running - Hard times in Charlotte
Downturn bites in once thriving US financial hub - Mobilising Venezuela’s voters
Campaigners aim for big referendum turnout on Sunday - Candidates for 2016 Olympics
Chicago and Rio among the bidders - Iraqi finds new life in New York
An Iraqi journalist on settling in New York city - Complex clues in a kiss
What kissing says about the kisser… and the kissed - Tecnobrega beat rocks Brazil
Tecnobrega takes Brazil by storm - Intel announces $7bn plant plan
Computer chipmaker Intel announces plans to build new plants worth $7bn (£4.78bn) over the next two years. - Shares fall after US banking plan
Global markets give the $1.5 trillion US bank bail-out plan a muted response, following sharp falls overnight on Wall Street. - Oil rises on stimulus plan hopes
Oil prices jump after a week of falling crude prices on hopes US President Obama’s stimulus plan will revive the economy. - Family anger over Menezes review
No UK police officers will be prosecuted over the death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. - Obama hails bail-out ‘milestone’
US President Obama says Congress approval of his $787bn stimulus plan is a “major milestone” to economic recovery. - Doubts over Swiss attack claims
A Brazilian woman who said she miscarried twins after an alleged racist attack in Zurich was not pregnant, investigators say. - US ‘keen to strengthen Asia ties’
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells the BBC the US is keen to deepen its Asia ties, ahead of a tour of the region. - US plane ‘crashed flat on house’
An aircraft that crashed in New York state, killing 50 people, fell flat onto a house, investigators say. - Venezuela expels Spanish deputy
Venezuela expels a Spanish deputy of the European parliament for reportedly calling Hugo Chavez a dictator. - Baseball star lied about drug use in the sport
US baseball star Miguel Tejada pleads guilty to lying to Congress about the use of performance enhancing drugs in the sport. - Fresh twist in Beckham tug-of-war
AC Milan refuse to be put off signing David Beckham, despite LA Galaxy’s insistence the midfielder will return when his loan ends on 8 March. - Why saying ’sorry’ is all the rage
Why ’sorry’ seems to be the easiest word - Woman with world’s longest fingernails loses them in car crash
An American woman who held the record for having the world’s longest fingernails has them broken off in a car crash. - White House to honour Stevie Wonder with a special award
Motown legend Stevie Wonder is to be honoured with a concert and special award at the White House later this month. - Octuplets PR team ‘death threats’
A PR firm is to stop representing the California woman who gave birth to octuplets after it says it got death threats. - US army ‘wants more immigrants’
The US army is to accept immigrants with temporary US visas for the first time since the Vietnam war, a report says. - Holbrooke begins key India talks
The new US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is holding talks with Indian leaders on the last leg of a regional tour. - Clinton makes first visit to Asia
Hillary Clinton is due in Japan on her first overseas visit as America’s top diplomat, days after pledging stronger Asian ties. - Reporters track the changes
The BBC’s Washington correspondents track developments in the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s presidency. - Guantanamo inmate ‘fit to travel’
A British man held at Guantanamo Bay - Binyam Mohamed - is fit enough to return to the UK, the Foreign Office says. - Crash plane ‘dropped in seconds’
A plane that crashed onto a house in New York state killing 50 people dropped 800 feet in five seconds, officials say. - Venezuelan leader wins key reform
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wins a referendum, allowing him to stand for re-election beyond his second term.
CNN Americas News: 15 February 2009
February 16th, 2009 • Americas, CNN News, World
- Reports: Police chief questioned in killing
The police chief in Cancún has been relieved of his duties and placed under house arrest while he is investigated in the killing of a retired Mexican general who had been the area’s anti-drug chief for less than 24 hours, Mexican media are reporting. - Slayings shock super-yacht industry
The slayings of two super-yacht staff within a fortnight have shaken the luxury yacht industry and sparked calls for crews to exercise extreme caution. - Octuplets’ mom seeks online donations
Nadya Suleman, the single mother of newborn octuplets, is using the Internet to help support her family of 14 children. She’s started a Web site seeking donations. - Ex-leaders urge decriminalization of marijuana
Former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil called Wednesday for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in tactics on the war on drugs, a Spanish news agency said. - Colombia rebels blamed for more Indian killings
Marxist guerrillas in southwest Colombia are believed to have killed a second group of Indians the rebels accused of helping the government, a state governor said. - EU politician ousted over Chavez remarks
A European parliament envoy who was to serve as observer during the upcoming referendum on President Hugo Chavez’s term limits was expelled from Venezuela on Friday after calling Chavez a “dictator.” - Fence a dividing line in immigration debate
The Yuma desert is below: San Luis, Arizona, to one side and San Luis, Mexico, to the other. On this clear day, the Colorado River is glistening, birds playfully circling over what any map defines as the U.S.-Mexico border in this area. - Volcano eruption sparks alert in Colombia
A volcano near southwest Colombia’s border with Ecuador erupted on Saturday, leading the government to issue a “red alert” for the region. - Quake rattles Peru’s northern coast
A strong earthquake struck near the coast of northern Peru early Sunday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries, an analyst with the U.S. Geological Survey said. - Chavez declares victory in referendum
Venezuelans were deciding Sunday whether to change their constitution to allow President Hugo Chavez and other elected officials to run for office indefinitely.
NYTimes Americas News: 15 February 2009
February 16th, 2009 • Americas, NYTimes, World
- Economic Decline Lifts the Prospects of a Vocal Populist
The dominant political figure of Mexico’s left seemed to be heading toward irrelevance, but the recession has created opportunities for his brand of economic populism. - Mexico City Journal: Mayor Aims to Add Spark to Flagging Sex Lives
With elections looming, Mexico City’s mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, is giving Viagra away to poor, older men. - Running on Book Sense and Charm
A literary man about town may be Canada’s next prime minister. - Synagogue in Venezuela Vandalized in Break-In
The attack was the latest in a series of episodes aimed at Jewish institutions since Venezuela’s recent severing of diplomatic ties with Israel to protest the war in Gaza. - Tougher Border Can’t Stop Mexican Marijuana Cartels
Despite enforcement on both sides of the Southwest border, the Mexican marijuana trade is more robust than ever, law enforcement officials say. - Colombian Guerrillas Free 4 Hostages
Colombia’s embattled FARC guerrillas on Sunday released four hostages, with two more set to be freed later this week. - Basics: Tracking Forest Creatures on the Move
A new system for tracking monkeys in the rain forest could help revolutionize the labor-intensive business of field biology. - In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism
Bolivia will not easily surrender its massive reserve of lithium, the mineral needed to power electric vehicles. - World Briefing | The Americas: Ecuador: Port Deal Falls Through
Hutchison Whampoa, a conglomerate based in Hong Kong, pulled out of a deal to operate a cargo port in the city of Manta. - World Briefing | The Americas: Mexico: 3 Police Officers Shot to Death
A state police commander and two officers were fatally shot on their way to arrest a suspect in the western state of Sinaloa. - Chile Takes Steps to Rehabilitate Its Lucrative Salmon Industry
The country’s farmed salmon industry is still struggling to recover from a devastating virus that has killed millions of fish planned for export. - Ecuador’s President Orders U.S. Diplomat Expelled
President Rafael Correa on Saturday ordered the expulsion of a top U.S. diplomat he accused of suspending $340,000 in annual aid. - World Briefing | The Americas: Mexico: Cancún Police Chief Questioned in Killing
Cancún’s mayor said the police chief and five officers were questioned in relation to the killing of a retired general who was kidnapped near Cancún last week. - World Briefing | The Americas: Mexico: Kidnapping Episode Leaves 21 Dead
Soldiers in the state of Chihuahua chased and killed 14 armed men who had kidnapped nine people and killed six of them on Tuesday. One soldier was killed by the kidnappers, believed to be drug traffickers, bringing the death toll to 21. The gunmen took the hostages from the ranching town of Villa Ahumada and drove them to an isolated farm where six were killed, said Enrique Torres, a spokesman for the federal government’s antidrug operation in the state. A military convoy caught up with the kidnappers about 80 miles south of El Paso, killed seven of them and freed the remaining three hostages. Soldiers then pursued the other seven gunmen through heavy snow and killed them in a shootout. - World Briefing | The Americas: Colombia: Rebels Accused of Killing 17 Peasants
The governor of Nariño Province accused FARC rebels on Tuesday of killing at least 17 indigenous peasants they accused of collaborating with the army. - World Briefing | The Americas: Mexico: 7 Arrested in Cancún Killing
The authorities said Wednesday that they had arrested seven suspects in the Feb. 3 murder of the retired general Mauro Enrique Tello. - Plane Crash in the Amazon Kills 24
A handful of survivors of a plane that crashed in an Amazon jungle river managed to open an emergency door and swim to safety before the aircraft sank. - Venezuelans Campaign on Term Limits Amid Rising Tension
In the days before a referendum that will determine whether President Hugo Chávez can run for re-election indefinitely, campaigning has taken on a noticeable edge. - Brazilian Police Arrest Dozens in Drug Rings
The Brazilian police said Thursday that it arrested 55 people involved in two crime rings that were smuggling drugs into the country from Europe. - Venezuela’s Jews, Already Uneasy, Are Jolted by Attack
The Jewish community is apprehensive amid attacks on Jewish institutions following President Hugo Chávez’s expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. - Opposition Accuses Chávez of Unfair Tactics as Vote Nears
Venezuela’s opposition accused President Hugo Chávez of spending government money to campaign for the passage of a referendum that would allow him to stay in office for at least another decade. - Santana Is Out of the Classic, Disappointing a Nation
The Mets’ Johan Santana will forgo the World Baseball Classic due to concerns about his left knee, much to the chagrin Venezuela’s baseball-savvy president. - County Lines: Salvadoran Immigrants Turn Attention Back Home
An approaching election in El Salvador is generating excitement and heated debate in some Westchester neighborhoods. - Acclaimed Colombian Institution Has 4,800 Books and 10 Legs
A whimsical riff on the bookmobile, Luis Soriano’s “Biblioburro” is a small institution: one man and two donkeys. - The Saturday Profile: As a Memoirist, a Chilean Diplomat Takes Off the White Gloves
Heraldo Muñoz overcame his initial reluctance to write about his past when he realized that General Pinochet had affected an entire generation in Chile. - In Trinidad, a Painted Lady in Distress
The rapid disappearance of historic architecture in Trinidad is provoking a sometimes heated debate about the merits of historic preservation. - Chávez Reaches Out to Obama Ahead of Vote
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela said that he was ready to engage in direct talks with President Obama in a bid to repair relations with the U.S. - Softer Policy on Drugs Is Debated in Argentina
Officials are moving to decriminalize the personal use of illicit substances and give Argentina one of the more tolerant drug-consumption policies in the world. - Ecstasy Ensnares Upper-Class Teenagers in Brazil
Rising Ecstasy use is drawing a new class of educated young people into the cross hairs of drug enforcement in South America’s largest country. - Mexico Gunmen Kill Officer and 11 Others
Gunmen killed a policeman in an elite squad formed in the state of Tabasco to address growing violence, much of which is related to drug-trafficking cartels. - Tight Vote Expected in Venezuela on Lifting Term Limits
A referendum could open the way for President Hugo Chávez to hold onto power well into the next decade.
