Today in Latin America Top Story — Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) delayed a decision of who among the 34 presidential hopefuls will be eligible to run in the Nov. 28 elections. The CEP said it delayed the decision due to the high number of appeals under review, which were still being heard at 10 [...]
Today in Latin America Top Story — Wyclef Jean formally announced his candidacy in Haiti’s November presidential elections Thursday, both by radio in Creole and on the Larry King Live show in English. The popular entertainer’s fame and financial resources give him an edge over the competition, but there are mounting concerns about his eligibility [...]
Today in Latin America Top Story – It is now certain that pop star Wyclef Jean will run for the Haitian presidency, confirming rumors that have been circulating for weeks. “My decision was a draft. I’m being drafted by the youth,” Jean told Time Magazine in a video posted to its Web site. Ex-Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard [...]
Today in Latin America Top Story — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Wednesday the cancellation Haiti’s $268 million outstanding debt. On top of the debt cancellation, the IMF’s executive board approved a three-year request by authorities to support Haiti’s reconstruction and growth program. The $60 million loan is intended to boost Haiti’s international reserves [...]
Today in Latin America Top Story – Haitian police broke up a rally on Monday in front of the National Palace, where protesters demanded that President René Préval step down. Police fired tear gas into a crowd of about 2,000 and fired live rounds into the air, after protesters attempted to pass barricades in front [...]
NEW YORK — On Jan. 11, Choice Hotels announced it would open two upscale Comfort Inn franchises at the beachfront city of Jacmel, becoming the first foreign hotel chain to open in Haiti in more than 10 years. The next day, an earthquake devastated Haiti, leaving more than 200,000 people dead and causing more than [...]
NEW YORK — Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake killed more 200,000 people, destroyed the national economy, and left more than a million homeless. For Haiti’s 10,000, mostly foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), figuring out how best to help in such circumstances is a daunting task. U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti and former President Bill Clinton has a [...]
NEW YORK — When Ray Laforest walked into his office at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in lower Manhattan on January 12, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. The normal frenzied energy of the office was replaced by people crowded around televisions and speaking in hushed voices. As he [...]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – In turning tents into sophisticated operating theaters and deploying a gleaming hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, to the coast of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. government has brought needed medical services to thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors. But after top U.S. doctors operate on severe injuries and treat infections, it is up to Haitian [...]
NEW YORK — A Port-au-Prince school collapsed on a sunny day in Nov. 2008, leaving 80 children dead. The school, perched precariously on a hillside, had been built without a permit and with watered down concrete, its students crammed into overcrowded classrooms to increase tuition profits. “Where was the state?” asked William O’Neill, a lawyer [...]
Indigenous Colombians Face Possibility Of Extinction, U.N. Report Says
Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce Discusses Illegal Immigration, SB 1070, And Elections (Interview)
Chile’s Education Initiative Hopes To Attract More Qualified Teachers
Ollanta Humala, “Neither Left, Nor Right” — An Interview
Rancher’s Murder Highlights Complicated Immigrant-Crime Connection
Afro-Colombian Community Faces Eviction To Make Way For Gold Exploration
Oil Prospects in Cuba Have Some Rethinking U.S. Trade Embargo