Iraq: Ataques dejan 23 muertos y 43 heridos

Al menos 23 personas murieron y otras 43 resultaron lesionadas en violentos ataques perpetrados hoy en Irak, dijeron el Ministerio del Interior y fuentes policiales.Cuatro civiles murieron y otros cinco resultaron heridos hoy por la noche cuando un auto bomba estalló en el distrito de Askari, en el norte de Najaf, a 160 kilómetros al sur de Bagdad, indicó el general de brigada Saad Maan, vocero del Ministerio del Interior, en una declaración.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/iraq-ataques-dejan-23-muertos-y-43-heridos/

Libia: Explosión en depósito de municiones cobra al menos 40 vidas

Cuarenta muertos provocó la explosión ocurrida en un depósito de municiones en el sur de Libia, informaron fuentes de la seguridad. La explosión tuvo lugar en la ciudad de Sabha cuando habitantes de lugar y migrantes africanos estaban intentando robar municiones. Según un oficial de la seguridad, el balance de las víctimas podría todavía aumentar.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/explosion-en-deposito-de-municiones-cobra-al-menos-40-vidas/

Canciller cubano celebra estado de nexos entre Cuba y África

El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, destacó hoy en esta capital los históricos lazos de amistad de esa nación caribeña y África, forjados en una historia de lucha con ideales comunes, dijo. La estancia de Rodríguez Parrilla en Pretoria formó parte de una visita no oficial, escala de un recorrido que lo llevó también a la República Federal Democrática de Etiopía, Islas Seychelles, y continuará en Harare, Zimbabwe, y después Angola.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/canciller-cubano-celebra-estado-de-nexos-entre-cuba-y-africa/

Pasados por agua

La fotógrafa francesa Sophie Gamand regala estas simpáticas instantáneas de perros después de un baño.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/fotorreportajes/2013/11/28/pasados-por-agua/

En Honduras, pocos votos para aspirantes a cargos municipales

Casi 300 aspirantes a cargos municipales que participaron en las elecciones generales del 24 de noviembre en Honduras quedaron sin siquiera un voto, según resultados que afloran desde el Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE), reporta hoy el sito digital local elheraldo.hn. El hecho contrasta considerablemente con el gasto de alrededor de 150 millones de lempiras (siete millones 17 mil dólares) destinados a la impresión de papeletas para unos 27 mil aspirantes de nueve partidos políticos, afirma la publicación on line.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/en-honduras-pocos-votos-para-aspirantes-a-cargos-municipales/

Miss Italy, Miss Russia, Miss Nigeria, Others To Battle For Exquisite Face Of ... - 360Nobs.com

Miss Italy, Miss Russia, Miss Nigeria, Others To Battle For Exquisite Face Of ... 360Nobs.com Exquisite Face Of the Universe is a unique international beauty and modeling contest born to showcase the advancements of Africa's Eco Tourism. Since the first edition in 2008, it has been held in Ghana for four consecutive years and hosted by former ...

via tourism in Venezuela - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFImFF-F4PuUjj4QUJ0ao0bvfJ9uQ&url=http://www.360nobs.com/2013/11/miss-italy-miss-russia-miss-nigeria-others-to-battle-for-exquisite-face-of-the-universe-crown/

Cheers Greet Giant Balloons at Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - Voice of America

Cheers Greet Giant Balloons at Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Voice of America Her cousin Wilfred, a first-time spectator who traveled from Venezuela to see the parade, described the experience as a “once in a lifetime event.” The SpongeBob SquarePants giant balloon at Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Nov. ... Another protest involved ...

via tourism in Venezuela - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH0fH3fqtvFTGhcPWJg2YEFf3Sp4Q&url=http://www.voanews.com/content/cheers-greet-giant-balloons-at-macys-thanksgiving-parade/1799824.html

Paraguay senator loses immunity

Paraguay's senate bows to public pressure and lifts the immunity of Senator Victor Bogado, who has been accused of corruption.



via BBC News - Latin America & Caribbean http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25148732#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

US Promises To Help Cuba Find New Bank For Diplomatic Mission - Fox News Latino

US Promises To Help Cuba Find New Bank For Diplomatic Mission Fox News Latino Most are Cuban-Americans who bring cash to relatives, and there are also smaller numbers of visitors on academic, religious and "people-to-people" cultural exchanges allowed under embargo rules. The year-end holidays see a big bump in Cuba travel.

via Travel Cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGk7SHHznWyLqGf8IH_FP_sRFaiRA&url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/money/2013/11/28/us-promises-to-help-cuba-find-new-bank-for-diplomatic-misson/

LA IMAGEN DEL DÍA: Animales en la vía

Ganado vacuno mayor suelto en la vía que comunica a la ciudad de Cienfuegos con el poblado del Castillo de Jagua, en el tramo comprendido de Refinería a Ciudad Nuclear y que ofrecen peligro para el tránsito de vehículos. Puede enviar su imagen a editor@cubadebate.cu



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/opinion/2013/11/28/la-imagen-del-dia-animales-en-la-via/

Delegación cubana a Festival de Ecuador 2013 será abanderada este dos de diciembre

La delegación cubana al XVIII Festival Mundial de la Juventud y los Estudiantes Ecuador-2013, será abanderada en la noche de este dos de diciembre, Día de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias y del desembarco de los expedicionarios del yate Granma en 1956. Y en fecha tan especial, qué mejor escenario para la entrega de la enseña tricolor, que en la mitad del planeta ha de ondear muy alto, que el Memorial que en el Museo de la Revolución custodia el yate que trajo a libertad en aquella histórica travesía de Tuxpan a Las Coloradas.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/delegacion-cubana-a-festival-de-ecuador-2013-sera-abanderada-este-dos-de-diciembre/

US Promises To Help Cuba Find New Bank For Diplomatic Mission - Fox News Latino

US Promises To Help Cuba Find New Bank For Diplomatic Mission Fox News Latino HAVANA (AP) – Washington said Wednesday it is working with Cuba to find a new bank for its diplomatic accounts in the United States, after a banking cutoff forced the Caribbean nation to halt nearly all U.S. consular services just ahead of the busy ...

via cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGk7SHHznWyLqGf8IH_FP_sRFaiRA&url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/money/2013/11/28/us-promises-to-help-cuba-find-new-bank-for-diplomatic-misson/

The First Privatizers Were Pilgrims

The 102 Pilgrims who sailed to the New World in 1620 were destined to be communists. Under the terms of their agreement with the Plymouth company, they were to work communally for the first seven years, “during which time, all profits & benefits that are got by trade, traffick, trucking, working, fishing or any other [...]



via John Goodman's Health Policy Blog http://healthblog.ncpa.org/the-first-privatizers-were-pilgrims/

DC Jews press Obama to secure subcontractor's release from Cuban jail - Haaretz

Haaretz

DC Jews press Obama to secure subcontractor's release from Cuban jail Haaretz D.C. Jews press Obama to secure subcontractor's release from Cuban jail. Alan Gross was arrested in 2009 while on a mission to hook up Cuba's small Jewish community to the Internet; a rally planned for Dec. 3 is meant to raise awareness for his cause.

via cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG6Mx8en9Hn2_CYwjY9OBZaG7t0Dg&url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.560704

Death and taxes - The Economist (blog)

Death and taxes The Economist (blog) In both places, the most pervasive violent crime is extortion, a scourge that has spread across Latin America. A few examples suffice to show how criminals have turned this twist of the piratical “your money or your life” into a brutal fact of modern ...

via Latin america - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFtSIbB-K3j_wppmltCK9frwqms5A&url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2013/11/extortion-latin-america

Idalis Ortiz Bocourt y Asley González Deportistas del Año en Cuba

Los yudocas Idalis Ortiz Bocourt y Asley González, fueron seleccionados en la mañana de este jueves, en el salón de actos de la Ciudad Deportiva, como los mejores atletas de deportes individuales de Cuba durante el presente año, en el cual se destacaron por sus actuaciones en el Campeonato Mundial de Judo, Brasil 2013. El conjunto de baloncesto femenino como el equipo más destacado del año por su resultado en el campeonato Premundial de las Américas. Xalapa, México,



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/idalis-ortiz-bocourt-y-asley-gonzalez-deportistas-del-ano-en-cuba/

Televisores inteligentes “espían” en los hogares

Hoy hasta en nuestra cama podemos estar bajo el control del 'ojo omnipresente'. Y el culpable es un dispositivo que se encuentra en casi todos los hogares: el televisor. Puede sonar más como el argumento de una película de ciencia ficción futurista, pero estas escenas ya suceden todos los días en pueblos y ciudades de todo el mundo y en la mayoría de los casos, las víctimas no tienen ni idea de que alguien puede estar observando qué ropa llevan puesta, qué alimentos han comido, qué programa de TV han visto y cada paso que dan.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/televisores-inteligentes-espian-en-los-hogares/

Un muerto y 9 heridos: saldo de ataque a embajada de Rusia en Damasco

Un ataque de mortero perpetrado este jueves contra la embajada de Rusia en Damasco dejó un saldo, hasta el momento, de un muerto y nueve heridos. Según un comunicado de la cancillería rusa, la víctima es un ciudadano sirio, y varios de los guardias de la sede diplomática se encuentran heridos. Rusia rechazó el ataque y afirmó que "se trata de un acto terrorista premeditado cuyos responsables deberían ser castigados".



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/un-muerto-y-9-heridos-saldo-de-ataque-a-embajada-de-rusia-en-damasco/

Biblioteca Digital Nacional para la dignidad

La propuesta de la creación de una Biblioteca Digital Nacional de Cuba centró la conferencia magistral del profesor Pedro Urra en la Universidad de La Habana. Con el título “Las bibliotecas digitales como objetos colectivos de construcción para una sociedad de la dignidad”, Urra esbozó la concepción de vértigo producida por el crecimiento acelerado de los espacios de información en Internet, mediados por las relaciones de poder y los discursos hegemónicos, reguladores de los temas relevantes y los actores que se debe escuchar.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/opinion/2013/11/28/biblioteca-para-la-dignidad/

Domadores anuncian nómina para duelo con Rusia

Un trío de boxeadores que repiten y dos debutantes fueron anunciados para integrar el invicto equipo Domadores de Cuba que enfrentará el próximo seis de diciembre al de Rusia, como parte del grupo B de la Serie Mundial de ese deporte. Entre quienes fraguaron el 5-0 sobre Guerreros de México escalarán el cuadrilátero de la habanera Ciudad Deportiva el minimosca Yosbany Veitía, el mediado Ramón Luis y el crucero Erislandy Savón.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/domadores-anuncian-nomina-para-duelo-con-rusia/

Personas sordociegas en Cuba se integran a la sociedad

Con importantes avances en la rehabilitación, la integración social y la inclusión en las comunidades, la Asociación Nacional del Ciego (ANCI) llega a su VII Congreso, inaugurado oficialmente hoy en esta capital. En exclusiva a la AIN, el doctor José Blanch, presidente de la organización, destacó que el Centro Nacional de Rehabilitación ha egresado a más de mil 600 personas ciegas y débiles visuales, de ellas casi un centenar de otros países latinoamericanos.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/personas-sordociegas-en-cuba-se-integran-a-la-sociedad/

Washington says it's working with Cuba to find new bank after consular ... - Newser

Washington says it's working with Cuba to find new bank after consular ... Newser Washington said Wednesday it is working with Cuba to find a new bank for its diplomatic accounts in the United States, after a banking cutoff forced the Caribbean nation to halt nearly all U.S. consular services just ahead of the busy holiday travel ...

via Travel Cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNElNEnPJ5n2bmBrYl14IqTnn-wBtQ&url=http://www.newser.com/article/daab7lt83/washington-says-its-working-with-cuba-to-find-new-bank-after-consular-services-halted-in-us.html

Cuba travel threatened by US bank dilemma - NBCNews.com (blog)

Cuba travel threatened by US bank dilemma NBCNews.com (blog) HAVANA –United States diplomatic officials are helping their Cuban counterparts resolve a banking snafu that has forced the suspension of consular services, impacting travel to the island nation. Cuba suspended all its consular services out of ...

via cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGeu_SBGLLUzrTBNRjGTMYKUeBZTQ&url=http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/27/21642809-cuba-travel-threatened-by-us-bank-dilemma

"Food for Thought" Revisted

via The Latin Americanist http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2013/11/food-for-thought-revisted.html

Happy Thanksgiving!

via John Goodman's Health Policy Blog http://healthblog.ncpa.org/happy-thanksgiving-5/

Venezuelans divided ahead of polls

Venezuelans to vote amid divisions over Maduro leadership



via BBC News - Latin America & Caribbean http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25141809#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

When harvest festivals go nuts

The fall harvest has a way of making people giddy. Around the globe, folks dance, sing, race cows, and even parade around giant phalluses. We've reaped some of the world's most colorful seasonal celebrations. Dig in.



via CNN.com - Latin America http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/28/travel/thanksgiving-isnt-the-only-colorful-harvest-festival/index.html

Bay of capitalist pigs? - Yachting Monthly

Bay of capitalist pigs? Yachting Monthly The measure is part of a broader initiative to diversify tourism in Cuba, which is currently the second-highest economic activity for the Caribbean island. The government said it plans to create a National Nautical Commission, which will coordinate ...

via tourism in cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHKb-G3twkHmRffgdrahLttN3Y3WA&url=http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/535671/bay-of-capitalist-pigs

Cuba suspends most consular services in US - Gulf Times

Gulf Times

Cuba suspends most consular services in US Gulf Times On the other hand, the decision is potentially a big blow to Cuba's tourism industry, one of the mainstays of the island's cash-strapped economy. Around 350,000 Cuban Americans visit relatives in Cuba each year according to travel industry estimates ... Cuba suspends consular services in US over lack of banking Loss of bank forces Cuba to suspend consular services in US UPDATE 1-Cuba suspends consular services in US, blames embargo

via tourism in cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF2_oGa_VzGqe2Rvmws0-vKb9tlTw&url=http://www.gulf-times.com/us-latin%2520america/182/details/372981/cuba-suspends-most-consular-services-in-us

Pentágono trata de agilizar convenio con Afganistán

El general Joseph Dunford, jefe de las fuerzas foráneas ocupantes de Afganistán, advirtió que dilatar la firma del convenio militar Kabul-Washington pondrá en peligro a la nación asiática. La declaración de Dunford responde a lo dicho por el presidente afgano, Hamid Karzai, de que lo mejor sería sellar el pacto después de las elecciones generales de abril. El jefe máximo de las tropas de la OTAN y de la Fuerza Internacional de Asistencia para la Seguridad precisó que aplazar el tratado provocará una crisis económica, política y social en Afganistán.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/pentagono-trata-de-agilizar-convenio-con-afganistan/

SNB53: Matanzas soporta asedio por la cima

Bajo el incesante asedio de Industriales y Pinar del Río, el seleccionado de Matanzas conservó el primer lugar de la tabla de posiciones del béisbol cubano al vencer a Las Tunas con marcador de 5-2. Este miércoles Yoanni Yera diseminó cinco imparables y una limpia en seis capítulos de labor para adjudicarse el triunfo, en tanto el receptor Lázaro Herrera pegó de 3-3 con un doblete y una impulsada, entre los más destacados madero en ristre para la causa de los Cocodrilos matanceros.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/snb53-matanzas-soporta-asedio-por-la-cima/

Honduras: Partido LIBRE convoca a movilización este sábado

El presidente del Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre), Manuel Zelaya, anunció que este sábado convocará a una movilización para rechazar los resultados electorales oficiales emitidos por el El Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) que dan como ganador al nacionalista Juan Hernández. "El sábado vamos a convocar a movilizaciones, le robaron el triunfo a Libre, a Xiomara (Castro) y vamos a demostrarlo", reiteró. El TSE ratificó que Hernández era el ganador de los comicios con un 35,26 por ciento.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/honduras-partido-libre-convoca-a-movilizacion-este-sabado/

Embajada rusa en Damasco fue sometida al fuego de morteros

La embajada de Rusia en Damasco fue sometida al fuego de los morteros, según comunicaron a ITAR-TASS desde la propia representación diplomática rusa. "Un proyectil cayó en el territorio de la embajada sin que se registraran víctimas humanas ni destrucciones", informó un representante de la misión diplomática rusa.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/embajada-rusa-en-damasco-fue-sometida-al-fuego-de-morteros/

Francisco designa a su secretario privado para supervisión del banco del Vaticano

El papa Francisco designó el jueves a su secretario personal para supervisar las actividades del banco del Vaticano, en una señal de que el pontífice quiere mantener un firme control sobre la iniciativa para limpiar las operaciones y la imagen de la entidad financiera de la Santa Sede. Alfred Xuereb, un prelado maltés de 55 años, será responsable de monitorear las dos comisiones creadas por el Papa para supervisar el banco en sí mismo y la estructura económica y las finanzas de la Santa Sede, indicó el Vaticano en un comunicado, informó Reuters.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/11/28/francisco-designa-a-su-secretario-privado-para-supervision-del-banco-del-vaticano/

Martín Serrano: “Un especialista en comunicación es un profesional de la humanización”

¿Qué se puede esperar de la comunicación para hacer al mundo mejor? “Todavía me lo sigo preguntando”, confesó el Dr. Manuel Martín Serrano, hablando del lugar cada vez más determinante que ocupan las lógicas de la información y la comunicación en la vida social. “Mediaciones del conocimiento y la información que humanizan y que deshumanizan” fue el título de la conferencia magistral dictada por el profesor de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid que, en el Aula Magna de la Universidad de La Habana, dio apertura a ICOM 2013.



via Cubadebate http://www.cubadebate.cu/opinion/2013/11/28/martin-serrano-un-especialista-en-comunicacion-es-un-profesional-de-la-humanizacion/

Cuba Is a Multicultural and Multiracial Country - Havana Times

Havana Times

Cuba Is a Multicultural and Multiracial Country Havana Times HAVANA TIMES — “Cuba is a multicultural and multiracial country,” said a journalist for Cuba's midday news while reporting on an activity organized for an anniversary of Havana's Arab Union. I'm glad someone's finally realized that the concept of a ...

via cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH5rSpTSIuSyoAB4AhmoNvjHI_5tA&url=http://www.havanatimes.org/?p%3D100327

The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving

There is a tradition that in the planting of New England, the first settlers met with many difficulties and hardships, as is generally the case when a civiliz’d people attempt to establish themselves in a wilderness country. Being so piously dispos’d, they sought relief from heaven by laying their wants and distresses before the Lord [...]



via John Goodman's Health Policy Blog http://healthblog.ncpa.org/the-real-story-of-the-first-thanksgiving/

Peru’s government: Partners in crime

WHY were up to ten police patrol cars and dozens of officers providing round-the-clock protection at a house belonging to a convicted criminal? That is a question to which Peru’s president, Ollanta Humala, has so far been unable to provide a coherent answer. And it is one that threatens further damage to Mr Humala’s deteriorating reputation.The criminal in question is Óscar López Meneses, who was given a suspended prison sentence for helping to run a vast espionage, extortion and embezzlement racket in the 1990s for Vladimiro Montesinos. The intelligence chief under the authoritarian government of Alberto Fujimori, Mr Montesinos is now serving a 25-year prison sentence. When a television programme revealed Mr López’s continuing ties to the police earlier this month, the interior minister, Wilfredo Pedraza, resigned and seven senior policemen were sacked.The scandal has lapped uncomfortably close to Mr Humala, a former army officer. According to several security experts in Lima, Mr Pedraza was a largely decorative figure. The ministry was in practice run by Adrián Villafuerte, a retired colonel who served in the army with Mr Humala and acted as his security adviser. Mr Villafuerte, too, was sacked this month, despite his denial of any link to Mr López.The president has announced an investigation into “corrupt police officers” whom he blames for the protection afforded Mr...

via The Economist: The Americas http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21590937-spy-casts-shadow-president-partners-crime?fsrc=rss|ame

Infrastructure in Brazil: Taking off at last

ALTHOUGH not a fan of privatisation, since she became Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff has accepted that the state alone cannot fix Brazil’s long-neglected infrastructure. Hitherto her government has talked much of bringing in private capital to do the job, but fluffed this in practice.At last that is changing. On November 22nd Singapore’s Changi Airport Group and Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction firm, offered 19 billion reais ($8.2 billion)—four times the minimum allowable bid—to upgrade and run Galeão airport in Rio de Janeiro. The hub airport at Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s third city, went to Swiss and German operators in partnership with CCR, a toll-road operator. And on November 27th Odebrecht beat six other bidders to win the right to upgrade and levy tolls on an 851km (530 miles) stretch of potholed road from the soya producing state of Mato Grosso.Rapid growth in air travel and mismanagement by Infraero, the state operator, have overwhelmed Brazil’s airports. Lax rules saw inexperienced firms win three airports auctioned last year, including São Paulo’s international hub. That disappointed the government, which tightened requirements for the latest round. But work on all three has since gone well, with clean toilets, new signage and extra parking already in place. At São Paulo a new terminal will open before next June’s football World Cup. Quick fixes are all Rio...

via The Economist: The Americas http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21590938-some-serious-private-money-airports-and-roads-taking-last?fsrc=rss|ame

Argentina’s YPF: Swallowed pride

Your Petroleum, Ms Fernández

HAVING been an exporter of hydrocarbons not long ago, Argentina now imports natural gas from Bolivia and oil from Venezuela—even though it is sitting on what is probably one of the world’s biggest shale oil-and-gas fields, Vaca Muerta in Patagonia. When President Cristina Fernández last year ordered the expropriation of Repsol’s controlling stake in YPF, the country’s main oil company, she saw this as a way of ensuring Vaca Muerta would be developed by Argentines, not Spaniards. But the nationalisation placed YPF at the centre of an international legal dispute.This left Miguel Galuccio, YPF’s new CEO, running a company with little chance of raising the capital it needs if it is to develop its slice of more than a third of Vaca Muerta’s acreage. And it is one of several problems making it hard for Argentina to cut an energy deficit that according to Miguel Kiguel, an economist, is heading for $7 billion this year. That deficit is a big reason behind a plunge in the Central Bank’s reserves to a seven-year low.All this explains why the government this week offered Repsol compensation, reportedly of $5...



via The Economist: The Americas http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21590939-deal-repsol-small-step-towards-reversing-energy-deficit-swallowed-pride?fsrc=rss|ame

Venezuela’s Amazonas state: Lawless rivers and forests

THE gaudily painted perimeter wall of the army barracks in Puerto Ayacucho, the capital of Amazonas state, leaves no doubt as to the political sympathies of its commanding general. “The 52nd Jungle Infantry Brigade is Chavista Too”, it proclaims, in defiance of constitutional strictures about military neutrality. The slogan—a reference to Venezuela’s late president Hugo Chávez and the regime he founded—is a daily slap in the face for the state governor, Liborio Guarulla.

Chávez’s successor as president, Nicolás Maduro, has waged a campaign to throttle the administration of Mr Guarulla, one of just three opposition governors across the country’s 23 states. It is a foretaste of what the opposition can expect if it triumphs in mayoral elections on December 8th—which have turned into an unofficial plebiscite on Mr Maduro’s shambolic and increasingly authoritarian rule.He claims that Amazonas is in a “critical” condition because of the negligence of the state authorities. He has set up a parallel administration under Nicia Maldonado, a former minister for indigenous affairs, who was trounced by Mr Guarulla in an election last...



via The Economist: The Americas http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21590944-difficulty-being-opposition-governor-lawless-rivers-and-forests?fsrc=rss|ame

Honduras’s presidential election: Mano dura wins the day

WHEN Juan Orlando Hernández (pictured), the winner of Honduras’s presidential election of November 24th, was involved in a minor helicopter crash eight days before, he clambered out, fell to his knees and thanked God for saving his life. Since then, the 45-year-old right-winger who grew up in a rural family of 17 children has done his best to show that he is the chosen one. “The voice of the people is God’s voice,” he claimed, defending a victory his main opponent disputed.Mr Hernández, who is reputed to be an adept political operator, badly needs a deus ex machina to help him when he is formally declared president-elect of a country that had the world’s highest murder rate last year (about 20 Hondurans are killed each day). The election marked the fragmentation of what was a stable two-party system, in which Mr Hernández’s conservative National Party alternated in power with the slightly less conservative Liberals. That cosy arrangement began to crack in 2009 when Manuel Zelaya, a Liberal who had embraced Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, was overthrown in a coup.With 80% of the count complete, Mr Hernández had won only 36% of the vote, well...



via The Economist: The Americas http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21590900-new-president-violent-country-will-have-weak-mandate-threatens-brandish-big?fsrc=rss|ame

Giant prehistoric toilet unearthed

A massive "communal latrine" in Argentina full of thousands of fossilised poos offers a time capsule to the dawn of the dinosaurs, scientists say.



via BBC News - Latin America & Caribbean http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25126333#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

DC Jews press Obama to secure subcontractor's release from Cuban jail - Haaretz

Haaretz

DC Jews press Obama to secure subcontractor's release from Cuban jail Haaretz D.C. Jews press Obama to secure subcontractor's release from Cuban jail. Alan Gross was arrested in 2009 while on a mission to hook up Cuba's small Jewish community to the Internet; a rally planned for Dec. 3 is meant to raise awareness for his plight. Rally planned on Alan Gross' 4th anniversary in Cuban prison Alan Gross Wife Plans New Freedom Push for Jew Held in Cuba

via Cuba Obama - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG6Mx8en9Hn2_CYwjY9OBZaG7t0Dg&url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.560704

Analysis: US sanctions make Cuba's bank account too toxic for banks - Reuters

Analysis: US sanctions make Cuba's bank account too toxic for banks Reuters MIAMI (Reuters) - The decision by a New York bank to close Cuba's checking account in the United States has presented an unusual diplomatic quandary that provides a test for new-found pragmatism in relations between the two longtime foes.

via cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF-iIlg_T3vjZi9crmzT7RtftITyA&url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/28/us-cuba-usa-banking-analysis-idUSBRE9AR0FI20131128

The Real Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Hasn’t Changed Much in Two Decades

Source: Timothy Taylor.



via John Goodman's Health Policy Blog http://healthblog.ncpa.org/the-real-cost-of-thanksgiving-dinner-hasnt-changed-much-in-two-decades/

Sandvine wins Tier 1 Latin American Mobile Operator Group - Canada NewsWire (press release)

Sandvine wins Tier 1 Latin American Mobile Operator Group Canada NewsWire (press release) In Latin America, operators are hungry for business intelligence solutions that can help them understand subscriber preferences as a first step towards differentiating their service offerings. Many of Sandvine's customers in the region have deployed ...

via Latin america - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHBQSBZ09qBbUPAa2JS3g0Azy21Ng&url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1269863/sandvine-wins-tier-1-latin-american-mobile-operator-group

Airbus Aims To Overtake Boeing In Latin America - Airwise

Airbus Aims To Overtake Boeing In Latin America Airwise Airbus aims to have more airliners operating in Latin America than its rival Boeing for the first time next year, the European company's senior executive in the region said. The reversal of fortune for Airbus underscores its fierce battle with Boeing ...

via Latin america - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNErKgMi2Ing1kB43Iyetn6PucsXlw&url=http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1385559051.html

Miss Earth delegates at Toki - Manila Standard Today

Miss Earth delegates at Toki Manila Standard Today The Miss Earth 2013 pageant takes the lead in promoting eco-tourism to the world. It is the only pageant with a proactive advocacy in saving the environment, and focuses on eco-tourism this year as its contribution to the country's efforts to use ...

via tourism in Venezuela - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF02NmOPEKVVIRlsi358B3TwTzMAg&url=http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/11/28/miss-earth-delegates-at-toki/

Cuba travel threatened by US bank dilemma - NBCNews.com (blog)

NBCNews.com (blog)

Cuba travel threatened by US bank dilemma NBCNews.com (blog) HAVANA –United States diplomatic officials are helping their Cuban counterparts resolve a banking snafu that has forced the suspension of consular services, impacting travel to the island nation. Cuba suspended all its consular services out of ... Cuba suspends consular services in US US seeks to end Cuba consular services suspension US says working with Cuba to solve banking issue

via Travel Cuba - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGeu_SBGLLUzrTBNRjGTMYKUeBZTQ&url=http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/27/21642809-cuba-travel-threatened-by-us-bank-dilemma