New Border Apprehensions Figures Point To Patternby The Arizona Republic
For the first six months of this fiscal year, ending in March, Border Patrol apprehensions of undocumented migrants entering from Mexico climbed 13 percent compared with a year earlier.
The new data come as the debate over immigration reform and how much more to spend locking down the border intensifies in Washington. The Senate is expected to soon begin considering a sweeping bipartisan reform bill.
The increase in apprehensions generally signals an increase in attempted crossings. And the recent surge is coming almost entirely through the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, which is beginning to rival the Tucson Sector as the busiest — and deadliest — route for migrants from Mexico.
The 6 Most LGBT-Friendly Latin American Countries Are...by The Huffington Post
Latin America may be more LGBT-friendly than you think.
This year’s edition of the “Spartacus International Gay Travel Index,” released in February, places several Latin American countries among the most LGBT-friendly in the world, belying the stereotype of a region drenched in Catholicism-infused machismo.
The index, which ranks 138 of the world’s countries, calculates its scores based on criteria including legislation guaranteeing the LGBT rights to marriage and adoption, as well as the frequency of acts of violence against the community.
Sweden topped the list, followed by several European countries before the first Latin American country appears, holding 9th place.
It’s not surprising that much of the region fared well. Though many might suspect that Latin America’s Catholicism would hold it back from embracing LGBT rights, several countries in the region have passed trailblazing legislation.
Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010. Mexico City passed a law in 2009 that gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry and to adopt children. Other countries, like Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, have recognized domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.
Some places still have a ways to go, but are making strides. For example, Puerto Rico, which placed a mediocre 89th, just passed a major anti-discrimination law aimed at defending the LGBT community.
At the same time, a few countries did pretty poorly. Honduras, one of the most violent countries in Latin America, came in at a dismal 104th -- tied with Peru.
Find out which Latin American countries are the most LGBT-friendly in the slideshow above.
The lead prosecutor on the case, Eduardo Contreras, charges that an American man who is now in the US witness protection program gave Neruda an injection of a poison shortly before he died. Forensic scientists are still analyzing Neruda's remains in an attempt to determine whether or not there was foul play.
My suitcase is parked in a corner, the tiny gifts that traveled inside it already in the hands of friends and relatives. The anecdotes -- for their part -- will need more time, because there are so many I could spend the rest of my life parsing their details. I'm back now. Beginning to feel the peculiarities of a Cuba that in my three-month absence has barely changed. The number of uniforms was the first thing that jumped out at me: soldiers, customs, police... why do you see so many uniforms simply on landing at José Martí Airport? Why is there this feeling of so few civilians and so many soldiers? After the dimmed lights of the halls, the none too friendly question of a supposed doctor interested to know if I had been in Africa. Where are you coming from, honey? She jerked her head around noticing my blue passport with the shield of the republic on its cover.
Outside, a group of colleagues and family waited for me. The embrace of my son, the most cherished. Then having again entered my own space and the unique pace at which life transpires here. Catching up with the stories, events in the neighborhood, the city and the country. I'm back. With an energy that the daily stumbling blocks try to cut short, but with enough left over to undertake new projects. One stage of my life is ending and another is emerging. I have seen the solidarity, I have felt it and now I also have the duty to tell my compatriots on the Island that we are not alone.
I have brought so many good memories: the sea in Lima, the Templo Mayor in Mexico City, the Freedom Tower in Miami, the beauty of Rio de Janeiro, the affection of so many friends in Italy, Madrid with its Museo del Prado and its Cibeles Plaza, Amsterdam and the canals running through it, Stockholm and the cyber-activists from the whole world I met there, Berlin and the graffiti that covers what was once a wall dividing Germany, Oslo surrounded by green, New York that never sleeps, Geneva with its diplomats and the United Nations headquarters, Gdansk laden with recent history, and Prague, beautiful, unique. All these places, with their lights and shadows, their grave problems and their moments for leisure and laughter, I have brought with me to Havana.
I am back and I am not the same person. Something of each place where I was stayed with me, and the hugs and words of encouragement I received are here today, with me.
Mexican Soap Star: 'I'm Gay And I Say This With Pride'by The Huffington Post
Sebastián Ligarde has decided to come out of the closet -- proudly declared he is gay in the latest issue of Mexico’s TVyNovelas magazine.
The 59-year-old Mexican soap star, and famous villain in the telenovela "Quinceañera," told the magazine: “I'm gay and I say this with pride. No gay person should have to walk down the street with stigma stamped on his forehead. Sexual preference is genetic... and if God and my family knows it, then let the world know it.
When asked why he had previously subscribed to a website for bisexuals, the star responded: “I was bisexual when I was young. It doubled my chances at getting a date on Saturday night. I’ve been in a stable relationship for more than 20 years.
Ligarde, who has his own acting school in Miami, added “I believe I’m at an age when I can help new values... and to have the courage to accept myself publicly, as Ricky Martin did. He has been an inspiration for me when it comes to talking about this subject.”
On how life will be after revealing his sexual orientation, he answered: "It’s a day of relief and a lot of courage. It takes courage to be honest. It’s much easier to lie."
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article described that the actor "proudly confessed" being gay. The text has been changed so as to not give a negative connotation to the act of publicly revealing his sexual orientation.
A small cruise in the Galapagos Islands had its permit to operate revoked for allegedly violating the area’s strict environmental regulations. Celebrity Cruises was forced to cancel a June 2 trip by the Celebrity Xpedition, a 98-passenger ship, when the Galapagos National Park cited them “for transportation and storage of 12 kilograms of frozen lobster tails in the Galapagos.” The lobster was reportedly being transported out of season, though a statement from Celebrity Cruises insists the lobster tails “were purchased legally during the season from local fishermen certified by the Park, and that no purchases of lobsters were made out of season.” Though the park has confirmed the lobster was not purchased out of season, a new regulation demands that all lobsters be consumed within five days of the end of the season. Celebrity Cruises says they were unaware of the regulatory change when they were cited and fined $2,000 on March, pointing out the regulation was not published until April 22. The Celebrity Xpedition’s June 2 cruise was canceled and passengers compensated, and the cruise line says it also contacting passengers for the June 9 departure.
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El villano de Quinceañera aclara que se siente orgulloso de ser homosexual.
As a land reform agreement was reached in Havana this weekend between the FARC and the Colombian government, the US Army's office in Colombia solicited proposals for anti-guerrilla radio novellas.
While most people hunker down when a tornado approaches, a growing contingent heads for the prairies, be they scientists hoping to protect the public from a twister's fury or amateurs armed with little more than a smartphone, a digital camera and a desire to sell 15 seconds of video to the nightly news.
Naturalized Latino immigrants who arrived in the 1990s, older Latinos, and Puerto Ricans were the 3 groups within the Latino voter demographic whose participation in the 2012 elections did not drop from 2008 – whereas turnout declined in all other groups. This is one of the findings in a new Pew Hispanic report out today, Inside the 2012 Latino electorate.
A record 11.2 million Latinos voted in 2012, a result of the increasing Latino population in the U.S. But the turnout rate – in other words, the percentage of eligible Latino voters who went out and voted – dropped slightly in 2012 to 48 percent, from 49.9 in 2012.
Yet among naturalized Latino immigrants, turnout increased from about 41 percent to about 47 percent. Latinos 65 and older increased their participation from 56 percent to close to almost 60 percent, and Puerto Rican voter turnout increased from 49.7 percent in 2008 to 52.8 percent in 2012.
Pew Hispanic associate director Mark Hugo Lopez says increased turnout among older Latino voters mirrors the general population, in which older voters participate at higher rates. Among Puerto Rican voters, “there was a lot of outreach toward this group, particularly in central Florida, which could have contributed to higher voter turnout rates,” says Lopez. He also adds that in recent years, more Puerto Ricans have left the island to live in the U.S. mainland.
Voter turnout rates vary among different Latino groups. The highest voter turnout rates were among college-educated Latinos, at almost 71 percent, and Cuban-American Hispanics, whose participation, at 67.2 percent, exceeded the general population as a whole, and surpassed non-Hispanic white voters and African American voters.
Among the groups with the lowest turnout were young Hispanics ages 18 to 29, with less than 40 percent voter turnout, as well as Mexican Americans, with 42.2 percent turnout. The lowest voter turnout was among those with less than a high school degree – less than 36 percent of Hispanics in this group voted.
Just 43.9% of Hispanics are eligible to vote, compared to more than half (51.7%) of Asians, 69.1% of blacks and 78.6% of whites are eligible to vote. This is driven by two things – the relative youth of the nation’s Latinos, and the high number of non-citizen Latino adults.
The report found the number of Latinos who say they were registered to vote in 2012 reached 13.7 million, up 18 percent from 2008. This was a record. However, the voter turnout rate among Latino registered voters was lower in 2012 than in 2008—81.7% versus 84%.
Tagged: Hispanics, latino vote, Latinos, pew, Pew Hispanic
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Old and new; the Latinos who drove the 2012 vote
NBC Latino Naturalized Latino immigrants who arrived in the 1990s, older Latinos, and Puerto Ricans were the 3 groups within the Latino voter demographic whose participation in the 2012 elections did not drop from 2008 – whereas turnout declined in all other groups. The Romney “Latino Vote” Self-Deportation MythFrontPage Magazine Latino 2012 turnout lower than reportedDaily Caller Latino voter turnout dropsKJZZ all 6 news articles » |
Analysts have revised their 2013 growth forecasts for Brazil downward from 2.93 percent to 2.77 percent, the Central Bank said Monday.
