Laura Chinchilla is Costa Rica’s First Female President
02/08/2010 11:22 AM EDT
Laura Chinchilla, a political scientist with a specialization in security, will become Costa Rica’s first female president, having won Sunday’s presidential election by a wide margin.
Fifty years old, this petite and elegant woman was encouraged to run for the presidency by President Oscar Arias, of the National Liberation Party (PLN).
Chinchilla so becomes the third Central American woman to win her country’s highest executive office, following Nicaraguan Violetta Chamorro and Panamanian Mireya Moscoso, but unlike her predecessors – the widows of prominent politicians – she will come to power on her own merits.
Significant Progress in Providing Aid to Quake Victims in Haiti
02/03/2010 07:20 AM EDT
The United Nations reports significant progress has been made in providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of quake victims in Haiti. A senior U.N. official says the relief operation is being scaled up on all levels, with shelter topping the list of priorities.
The United Nations says things may be improving, but the crisis in earthquake-devastated Haiti is far from over. U.N. officials report nearly one-half million people have left the capital Port-au-Prince for outlying areas. They say 90 percent of these people are staying with host families who are in need of assistance.
US Military to Resume Medical Evacuation Flights from Haiti
02/01/2010 11:06 AM EDT
U.S. military flights bringing Haitian earthquake victims to the United States resume Monday.
The medical evacuation flights were suspended last week in a dispute over where the patients would be treated and who would pay for their care.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement Sunday the White House has received assurances that the United States and its international partners have the medical capacity to treat the injured Haitians.
“It’s Painful, But It Is Comforting to Know He Was Participating in a Peace Mission”
02/01/2010 06:18 AM EDT
To be selected to participate in peace missions abroad is considered a distinction among Latin American military personnel. For the majority, it is not the salary in American dollars that attracts them, but the possibility of raising the profile of their countries abroad, as well as participating in humanitarian and peacemaking actions. Deaths are rare in these situations. With the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, this has changed. Brazil, which has led the peace mission in Haiti for almost six years, had more than 1,200 military personnel in the country at the time of the tragedy. Eighteen of them did not survive.
Haiti’s seaport capacity increases, General Fraser says
01/29/2010 01:24 PM EDT
WASHINGTON – Conditions in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, Haiti, continue to improve day by day, but a tremendous need still exists, the commander of U.S. Southern Command said today.
Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser also said U.S. military personnel have opened a seaport that is bringing in about 200 containers a day, and that he expects that capacity to more than double in the weeks ahead.
Southcom is in charge of the U.S. military’s humanitarian response effort in Haiti.
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02/08/2010 05:54 AM EDT
Colombian Rebel Leader Killed In Military Airstrike
The leader of one of the units of Colombia’s largest rebel insurgency was killed in a military airstrike on his camp, the army said in a statement.
The commander of the 51st Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Pedro Alfonso Vargas Marin, was killed in Friday’s bombardment in a rural area outside the central town of La Uribe, a traditional rebel stronghold along the border between Cundinamarca and Meta provinces.
02/02/2010 06:02 AM EDT
Spain, U.S. Want Latin America To Assume New “Global” Role
Spain and the United States agreed on the need for Latin America to assume a role of “global interlocutor” to participate in overcoming problems like the economic crisis and confronting challenges like climate change.
The Spanish secretary of state for Ibero-America, Juan Pablo de Laiglesia and Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela met in Madrid.
02/02/2010 11:55 AM EDT
Fighting Crime and Preparing for Disasters Are Priorities for Central America
The search for strategies to confront alarming levels of crime and prepare for natural disasters are two priority topics for the Central American Integration System (SICA) in the next five months.
01/28/2010 12:59 PM EDT
Brazilian Ministry Concludes Plan to Rebuild the Health System in Haiti
A total of R$ 135 million ($75 million dollars) will be used to send ten Rapid-Care Units (UPAs) and fifty Mobile Urgent Care Service (SAMU) ambulances, besides the building of Family Health teams and support for the Child’s Pastoral.
01/07/2010 07:45 AM EDT
Hubble Discovers the Oldest Galaxies Ever Observed
The Hubble Telescope has broken a new record by discovering the oldest galaxies yet observed, dating from 13 billion years ago, which is to say 600 to 800 million years after the Big Bang, NASA announced Tuesday.
01/22/2010 12:21 PM EDT
French Striker Thierry Henry Has Donated 56,000 Euros To Haiti
Barcelona’s French striker, Thierry Henry, donated €56,000 to the NGO Doctors Without Borders to help Haiti after last week’s earthquake on Jan. 12, the club announced Friday.
The Barça striker “has worked with Doctors Without Borders and has contributed €56,000 to help the Haitian people,” wrote Barça on their website.
01/20/2010 11:14 AM EDT
Ricky Martin Visits Port-au-Prince Neighborhoods Affected By The Earthquake
Singer Ricky Martin traveled to Port-au-Prince today to visit the areas affected by last Tuesday’s earthquake, a catastrophe that he characterized as a “living nightmare,” the organization Habitat for Humanity International announced in a press release.
The images that are now in my head will be impossible to erase. Children and families impacted by this disaster will need long-term help restoring their lives, in every sense of the word,” Martin said.