In a further twist to the political crisis in Honduras, ousted President Zelaya now finds himself barricaded in the Brazilian embassy without lights, telephone or water. Under the orders of interim President Roberto Micheletti, armed troops have also surrounded the building. After three months in exile, Zelaya made a surpise return to Honduras earlier this [...]
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Ousted Honduran President, Manuel Zelaya, has made a dramatic return to his home country following months in exile in Nicaragua. In defiance of the de Facto government, who expelled the leader in an armed coup last June, Zelaya has re-entered Honduras and established himself in the Brazilian embassy.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Cuba’s largest open-air peace concert since 1959 attracted an estimated one million people. The free event in Revolution square, Havana, was organised by Colombian singer Juanes. Full report and video on the BBC website.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The seething border town of Ciudad Juarez, northern Mexico, has long been the epicentre of Mexico’s war on drugs. It has been dubbed Mexico’s most violent city with more than 1,000 drug related deaths in 2009. Pastor Manuel Estebane describes the grim day-to-day reality for the city’s inhabitants, which is dominated by fear and uncertainty. [...]
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The long-standing US trade embargo against Cuba is set to be reviewed by President Obama, bringing new hope to millions of Cubans who are denied basic goods and medicines. Obama is insisting on on democratic reforms before lifting it, and faces a battle ratifying the embargo in congress. Perhaps there will be no appetite for [...]
Monday, September 14, 2009
Food shortages in Guatemala led President Alvaro Colom to declare a state of emegency last week. Lida Escobar, a UN field monitor working for the UN’s world food programme, has reported serious malnutrition among children in several towns and villages.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The interim Honduran President has lost his US diplomatic and tourist visas in an apparently deliberate move. It is believed that the measure will place pressure on the country to reinstate Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a coup earlier this year. The US state department would not confirm that the visas had been revoked.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rain has finally fallen in Mexico City after a four month drought during what is usually Mexico’s wet season. Water rationing, civil disobedience and rising social tensions have accompanied the drought, believed to be caused by the El Nino weather system. Full story on the New York Times.
Monday, September 14, 2009
New investigations into the disappearance of commercial planes over the Bermuda triangle have led to new theories about the mysterious geographic location. Accident investigators cite faulty mechanics and limited 1940s technology as the primary causes of aircraft vanishing. Full report on the BBC website, followed by a new Radio 4 series commencing Monday 14 September [...]
Monday, September 14, 2009
A boat containing 54 migrants from Eritrea have been seized by Costa Rican officials en-route to the United States. It is just one of several that have been captured in the area.
Interamericana is an intrepid new travel blog about the people and places surrounding the Carretera Interamericana - a 6000 kilometre stretch of highway that links Mexico and the seven nations of Central America. Created by guidebook writer and journalist Richard Arghiris, Interamericana combines photography, video and the best in alternative travel writing.
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Mr Edgar ‘Rasta’ Coulsen is a native of the Caribbean town of San of Juan del Norte – an end of the world settlement perched at the mouth of the Rio San Juan. In this short video interview, Interamericana talked to him about the changes that have taken place in the region since his childhood.
One day, me and my compadres took a trip up the Río Istiam – a tranquil waterway that meanders inland at the isthmus between Ometepe’s two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas. The river is home to abundant bird life, caimans, turtles and herds of indolent livestock. Many thanks to Jennifer Kennedy and the three Matts – Barwick, Hicks and Ashford, who appear in this video clip.
Via Via is something of a León institution, attracting Nicas and foreigners alike with its buzzing multi-cultural atmosphere, dirt-cheap bottles of rum and rousing Friday night music sets. Amalgama, featured in this video, are an institution in themselves, playing everything from rock ballads to crowd-pleasing revolutionary classics. In this clip they are accompanied by itinerant musician Richard Crandell and his Zimbabwean imbira.
As a poor chele, or white boy, rhythm was never going to come naturally to me. Nonetheless, my militant salsa instructor, Angel, patiently tried to teach me to dance. And when he could be patient no longer, he simply ordered me to the nearest disco…
Granada’s international poetry festival kicked off yesterday, 14th February 2010, with a belting set from Katia Cardenal. Performing at the Plaza Independencia, Katia sang a mixture of rousing folk songs and revolutionary ballads, including a superb homage to the Miskito people of the Atlantic coast (2nd song featured, actually in the Miskito language). Turn up the volume, pour yourself a rum, kick back and enjoy…
The land is scorched and broken. Piles of dark volcanic rubble litter the scene, yet to be properly eroded by sun, wind and rain. Years from now, these rocks will be transformed into fine, fertile silt. But for today, dead, black lava fields cling to the slopes like some monstrous reptilian hide – coarse, inscrutable, alien…
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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