Full Coverage: Latin America & Caribbean

30.05.2005 The Bush administration is making a final push for Congressional passage of a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but claims that it will improve economies and strengthen freedom and democracy in Central America are not even supported by a majority in the Republican-led U.S. Congress, says In These Times senior editor David Moberg.

30.05.2005 The Bush administration's new interpretation of a pair of laws would withhold HIV/AIDS funds from U.S.-based as well as foreign organizations unless they sign a pledge to oppose prostitution. Over 200 groups and individuals have written to President Bush opposing the pledge requirement, saying it will cause groups to alienate the very populations they're trying to help.

28.05.2005 BUENOS AIRES, May 27 (IPS) - Twenty-year-old Romina Tejerina is scheduled to stand trial in June in Argentina, and could very likely be sentenced to life in prison for stabbing to death her newborn daughter.

27.05.2005 Diversas denuncias que están siendo investigadas en este momento por el Ministerio Público, evidencian irregularidades y falta de transparencia en cuanto al acceso y la asignación de las frecuencias radiofónicas en Costa Rica; favoreciendo un mercado ilícito de éstos bienes públicos.

27.05.2005 With confidence in the Pentagon at its lowest levels since the Vietnam War, explaining away the Abu Ghraib tortures as the work of a few "bad apples" is insufficient, says Col. Daniel Smith (Ret.), arguing that the repeated reports of prisoner abuse in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay point to a larger problem--one for which the Pentagon's senior policymakers should ultimately be accountable.

26.05.2005 On October 6, 1976 a plane took off from Caracas carrying 73 persons, including the members of a teenaged fencing team. The plane was blown to bits shortly after departure, leaving no survivors.

26.05.2005 La capitale bolivienne a passé la journée d'hier isolée du reste du pays en raison des manifestations et des barrages de routes, auxquelles s'ajoutera aujourd'hui la fermeture de son aéroport international. Le président Carlos Mesa a répété qui continuera son mandat jusqu'en 2007 tandis que se multiplient les doutes sur cette possibilité.

26.05.2005 In 2004, human rights violations occurred in every corner of the globe. Covering 149 countries, Amnesty International's annual report details the state of human rights and says opportunities for change by NGOs and the international community have emerged.

26.05.2005 The second Latin American and the Caribbean Conference on Free and Open Source Software Development and Usage will be held from 28 September to 1st October 2005 Recife and Olinda, Brazil.

25.05.2005 UNICEF announced Wednesday a partnership with Proctor and Gamble to provide home-based water purification systems for millions in poor countries around the world. The alliance will focus on bringing safe drinking water to schools, helping families in emergency situations, and reducing household exposure to arsenic-contaminated water.

25.05.2005 Following the murder of a Dominican couple earlier this month--allegedly committed by three Haitian men--thousands of Haitian migrants have been thrown out of the country. As Dominican stereotypes often attribute darker skin tones to Haitians, hundreds of people have been repatriated based on skin tone, without verification of their legal status.

24.05.2005 For the first time in Fidel Castro's Cuba, the government allowed a meeting of dissidents to speak their government criticisms freely and openly. The historic meeting, named the "Congress for Democracy in Cuba," was held last weekend and drew 168 participants from all sectors of society, calling for the release of political prisoners, a halt to capital punishment, and a return to multiparty politics.

24.05.2005 With their hopes fading, 12,000 rural Brazilians marched over 200km to the capital last week to encourage President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to push for land-reform. When Lula came to power in 2002, his working-class background legitimized promises for land reform--but the policy has since stalled with inter-administration bickering.

24.05.2005 Throughout Argentina, hundreds of people--primarily young women and adolescent girls--have vanished, kidnapped by trafficking rings operating with the complicity of authorities. Fernanda Aguirre, 13, was abducted in July 2004. State investigators have focused on finding a body, but Fernanda's mother believes her daughter was sold into forced prostitution.

23.05.2005 Levi’s sends Amaranta Wright undercover in Latin America to find out how to entice kids to buy its clothes. Instead she exposes the truth about its tactics in her new book and sets up Bulb - an ethical lifestyle mag for teens. Daniel Nelson reports.

20.05.2005 The MDG 2005 Report for Sri Lanka was released at Kandy on 16-17 May during a meeting of the Development Forum. The issues discussed at the meeting were lack of progress in the peace process and the transition from relief to recovery as well as the importance of coordination in tsunami relief.

19.05.2005

Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) helps families build small rooftop greenhouses. © Grassroots International

Jake Miller's photo essay titled "Haiti: Water for Life" documents the impact of one of the worst dry seasons in Haiti. In "Gardens Against the Wall" Jennifer Lemire and Stephanie Sluka Brauer show how the Wall physically separates Palestinian farmers from their land and livelihoods.

19.05.2005

© Pan American Health Organization

This edition of Perspectives in Health Magazine published by the Pan American Health Organization features the following articles: Disaster Myths That Just Won't Die - Real Men Are Responsible - Little Havana's "Dr. Joe" - The Problem with Drinking - A Special Relationship.

19.05.2005 U.S. officials detained Luis Posada Carriles Tuesday and must decide what to do with the confessed Cuban terrorist by Thursday afternoon. The Bush Administration should extradite him to face trial even though it shares many of his anti-Castro political ideals, says Latin America analyst Laura Carlsen.

17.05.2005 Bill Gates addressed health ministers from 192 countries at the World Health Assembly in Geneva Monday, calling for more research to develop solutions for diseases in poorer countries and for market incentives encouraging the private sector to invest in healthcare for the developing world. Gates put his money where his mouth is too, announcing a new $250 million commitment for its Grand Challenges global health research initiative.