Ortegas Land Grab

Caracas deports Colombia 'rebels'
Venezuela has deported three suspected Left-wing rebels to Colombia, a sign of improving relations. Colombia says one belongs to the FARC rebel group, while the other two allegedly belong to the ELN. Earlier this year, then Colombian President Alvaro Uribe claimed Venezuela was harbouring rebels. The Deportations come a day after Colombia promised to extradite a drug suspect, Walid Makled, to Venezuela rather than the United States. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez had expressed concern...

Thais hold anti-government rally
Six months after a violent crackdown on anti-government Protests in the Thai capital, Bangkok, so-called Red-shirt Protesters are gathering for a rally. Emergency laws still in force in Bangkok ban gatherings of more than five people but small Red-shirt events have been tolerated in recent months. The government has charged some Protest leaders with Terrorism. But relatives of the 90 killed when Thai Troops ended the Protests on 19 May say they want justice. Several hundred anti-government pro...

Ortega Picks On Costa Rica to Rally Support At Home
For the past couple of years, Nicaragua’s president Daniel Ortega has been desperately seeking to subvert his country’s constitution and feeble democratic institutions in order to stand for re-election next year. Since the Nicaraguan constitution bars him from running for a third term (he was president in 1985-1990), Ortega tried unsuccessfully to have the constitution amended by the National Assembly, where his Sandinista party lacks a majority to do so. However, through judicial sh...

Mexican troops kill 11 in clash with drug gang
Mexican Soldiers patrol in Tamaulipas state in August 2010. Mexican Troops ... Mexican Troops clashed in the northern state of Tamaulipas with gunmen believed to belong to the "Los Zetas" Drug Cartel, killing 11 of them, the Defense Ministry said. The gunfight occurred Wednesday night when a patrol responded to reports of armed men in the town of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, the ministry said in a statement. It said the gunmen fired on the patrol, triggering the firefight. "Eleven presumed aggresso...

Israeli military condemns Web list of troops
Alongside the photographs, the site also published the home addresses and ID numbers of many of the Israelis. They included senior commanders and low-ranking Soldiers who the site claimed participated in the three-week offensive Israel launched in Gaza in late 2008. The accuracy of the published details could not be confirmed. A statement from the Israel Defense Forces said the Military “deplores the publication of personal details of hundreds of IDF Soldiers and officers, without any fact...

U.S. deploying heavily armored battle tanks for first time in Afghan war
Source: Washington Post The U.S. Military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, defense officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics that have been employed by American forces this fall to attack the Taliban. The Deployment of a company of M1 Abrams tanks, which will be fielded by the Marines in the country's southwest, will allow ground forces to target Insurgents from a greater dis...

Google Maps Dispute May Go to Court
(NewsCore) - Officials from the Organization of American States (OAS) will meet Wednesday in an attempt to stop a border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica ending up before the International Court of Justice. The dispute between the two Central American nations began last month when Nicaraguan security forces moved into disputed territory on the northern bank of the San Juan River. An official in charge of the Troops told a local newspaper at the time that he used Google Maps to determine ...

Madagascan coup attempt fizzling
Soldiers in Madagascar have often intruded in politics. But their latest attempt is fizzling, leaving a group of officers holed up at a base and the Island's civilian leader -- who himself took power in a coup 20 months ago -- largely ignoring what appears to have been a poorly planned putsch. The Military officers called reporters to a base near the airport on Wednesday, prepared to read a list of their demands. Outside the base, the Nation was voting on a new constitution proposed by Andry Ra...

Madagascar tells families to leave rebel barracks - Africa - IOL
Soldiers patrol a street in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo. Antananarivo - Madagascar's government on Friday warned families living in a barracks housing a small group of Dissident army officers to leave, but insisted it wanted to avoid any bloodshed. The rebel officers have been holed up in the barracks near the International Airport since Wednesday, when they said they planned to topple the government and set up a Military council to run the Indian Ocean island. President Andry Rajoelina'...

Mexican Soldiers Kill 11 Alleged Gang Members
Like this Story? Share it: A gunbattle between Mexican Soldiers and Drug Cartel gunmen near the border with Texas killed 11 alleged Gang Members and prompted the U.S. to reinforce security at international crossings, officials said Thursday. (CBS/AP) U.S. struggles to keep Mexican Drug Cartel Violence from spilling across border. Learn about the people, economy and history. (AP) A gunbattle between Mexican Soldiers and Drug Cartel gunmen near the border with Texas killed 11 alleged Gang Members...

The Google Map Invasion: Nicaragua Blames Internet Giant for Costa Rican Land Grab
The US media ignores it and the International media treats it as an oddity, a quirky anecdotal story about those silly Latin Americans arguing over a meaningless border dispute.  But here in Costa Rica, the story of their sovereign land being invaded by a Stalinist aggressor is very real indeed, and the people are wondering why their powerful US ally is ignoring them. Weeks ago the Nicaraguan army marched onto Costa Rican soil and planted their flag on Isla Calero, in the San Juan river. &#...

Costa Rica files international court complaint against Nicaragua over border dispute
San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rica is taking its border dispute with Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice. Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rene Castro says Costa Rica filed the case with the Netherlands-based court after Nicaragua decided to disregard an Organization of American States resolution that it withdraw Troops from disputed territory along the San Juan border river. Nicaragua sent Troops to the area last month, angering Costa Rica. Castro told reporters Thursday he is c...

Costa Rica takes Nicaragua dispute to world court
SAN Jose, Costa Rica - Costa Rica is taking its border dispute with Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice. Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rene Castro says Costa Rica filed the case with the Netherlands-based court after Nicaragua decided to disregard an Organization of American States resolution that it withdraw Troops from disputed territory along the San Juan border river. Nicaragua sent Troops to the area last month, angering Costa Rica. Castro told reporters Thursday he is conf...

Costa Rica takes Nicaragua dispute to world court
SAN Jose, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica is taking its border dispute with Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice. Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rene Castro says Costa Rica filed the case with the Netherlands-based court after Nicaragua decided to disregard an Organization of American States resolution that it withdraw Troops from disputed territory along the San Juan border river. Nicaragua sent Troops to the area last month, angering Costa Rica. Castro told reporters Thursday he is...

Bret Stephens: Obama's Air Guitar - WSJ.com
Lately in the news: Beijing provokes clashes with the navies of both Indonesia and Japan as part of a bid to claim the South China Sea. Tokyo is in a serious diplomatic row with Russia over the South Kuril islands, a leftover dispute from 1945. There are credible fears that Tehran and Damascus will use the anticipated indictment of Hezbollah figures by a U.N. tribunal to overthrow the elected Lebanese government. Managua is attempting to annex a sliver of Costa Rica, a nation much too virtuous...

Madagascar orders camp evacuation
Madagascar's defence ministry has told people living near an army barracks occupied by a group of rebel Soldiers that they should leave the area. The officers, who said they had taken over the island nation two days ago, are holed up in the barracks near the airport of the capital Antananarivo. Some of them were behind the coup that brought President Andry Rajoelina to power last year. The unrest came on the day of a Referendum on a new constitution. The vote is seen as a way of legitimisin...

Colombia spurns US extradition for reputed narco
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos gestures during a Press Conference marking his first 100 days in office at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday Nov. 16, 2010. Bogota, Colombia -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spurned a U.S. request to extradite an alleged Cocaine kingpin from Venezuela, saying Tuesday that the suspect will be sent back to face charges in his home country. Walid Makled, 41, has claimed close ties with Venezuela's Socialist Government and the U.S...

Colombia spurns US extradition for reputed narco
Bogota, Colombia - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spurned a U.S. request to extradite an alleged Cocaine kingpin from Venezuela, saying Tuesday that the suspect will be sent back to face charges in his home country. Walid Makled, 41, has claimed close ties with Venezuela's Socialist Government and the U.S. State Department last year called him that country's "largest drug trafficker." The announcement drew fierce criticism from U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. The Florida Republican accuse...

Colombia spurns US request to extradite reputed Venezuelan cocaine kingpin, will send him home
Bogota, Colombia — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spurned a U.S. request to extradite an alleged Cocaine kingpin from Venezuela, saying Tuesday that the suspect will be sent back to face charges in his home country. Walid Makled, 41, has claimed close ties with Venezuela's Socialist Government and the U.S. State Department last year called him that country's "largest drug trafficker." The announcement drew fierce criticism from U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. The Florida Republican accus...

Colombia spurns US extradition for reputed narco
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spurned a U.S. request to extradite an alleged Cocaine kingpin from Venezuela, saying Tuesday that the suspect will be sent back to face charges in his home country. Walid Makled, 41, has claimed close ties with Venezuela’s Socialist Government and the U.S. State Department last year called him that country’s “largest drug trafficker.” The announcement drew fierce criticism from U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. Th...

Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz back in Venezuela after canceled concerts in spat with gov't
Caracas, Venezuela — Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz is in Venezuela to perform for the first time in years after Concerts in 2007 and 2008 were canceled amid friction between the entertainer and President Hugo Chavez's government. Sanz was in the western city of Maracaibo on Tuesday to sing in the first of three Concerts in Venezuela. The pop star canceled a Caracas concert in 2007 after a government official said Sanz wouldn't be allowed to use a state-controlled stadium due to his cr...

Venezuela's economy fails to emerge from recession, shrinks 0.4 percent more in 3rd quarter
Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuela's economy shrank 0.4 percent during the Third Quarter from a year earlier, the Central Bank said Tuesday in a report that revealed the South American nation's struggle to emerge from Recession. The latest dip in gross domestic product in the July-September period was largely caused by a 4.4 percent drop in commerce from the same period of 2009, the report said. Economic performance was an improvement from the 4.6 percent contraction in the Third Quarter of...

Public transportation prices in 80 worldwide cities
Any good Budget traveler can tell you that one of the best and easiest ways to save money in almost any city is to use the Public Transportation system, especially on longer journeys. As we recently displayed in our world taxi prices comparison, even a short trip can be incredibly Expensive in some cities. So below we’ve compiled Public Transportation prices in 80 of the Most popular tourist cities all over the world. Since nearly every one of these systems is subsidized by the city, some ...

Agencia Venezolana de Noticias
Todo indica que la noticia no debía salir pública y que fue un conjurado indiscreto que la regaló a la agencia Argentina Télam este viernes. Cada detalle fue luego confirmado por participantes bolivianos y otras fuentes. La lista de los principales participantes cuyos nombres se conocen por esa vía conforma el principio de un verdadero inventario de quienes quieren manejar el destino de América Latina de acuerdo con sus ideas de perfil neofascista. Aquí est...

Venezuela sets up 'CNN rival'
In a popular shopping area of Caracas, with street musicians playing a bolero in the background, Jorge Botero is filming a promo for Latin America's most ambitious new satellite channel. A young journalism Student walks into shot and says: "The news on Telesur, the true face of Latin America." Telesur is a new pan-Latin American TV channel based in Venezuela. It aims to rival CNN and the other Spanish-language news channels coming out of Miami and Atlanta. Some have already dubbed it Al-Boliv...