<\/p>\n
VENEZUELA: THE GOVERNMENT ADMITS THAT CHAVEZ CONTINUES HAVING RESPIRATORY FAILURE
\nOn Thursday, Feb. 21, the Venezuelan government announced that Hugo Chavez continues to suffer from respiratory problems. Information about Chavez\u2019s state of health had not been released since Monday Feb. 18, when he returned to Venezuela after a 70-day stay in a hospital in Cuba. Chavez was diagnosed with cancer in June 2011 and had a tumor \u201cthe size of a baseball\u201d extracted from his pelvic area. After being re-elected president on Oct. 7, 2012 he continued cancer treatment in Cuba, where he had another operation in December. President Chavez has not been seen in public since his return to Venezuela. Only Vice President Nicolas Madura, President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, and members of his family have access to his hospital room.<\/p>\n
HAITI: DUVALIER WILL TESTIFY BEFORE A JUDGE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
\nA Haitian court has ordered ex-president Jean-Claude \u201cBaby Doc\u201d Duvalier to present himself without fail before the justice court on Feb. 28. Duvalier will face charges of crimes against humanity and embezzlement committed from 1971 to 1986, during his governance. Baby Doc inherited his presidency from his father, Francois \u201cPapa Doc\u201d Duvalier, who ruled with an iron fist from1957 to 1971. During the Duvalier governments, thousands of Haitians were murdered, disappeared or suffered torture at the hands of the paramilitary force known as the Tonton Macoutes. It is estimated that during Baby Doc\u2019s reign hundreds of millions of dollars were diverted from public funds. Dozens of victims of \u201cDuvalierism\u201d and representatives of local and international human rights organizations celebrated the decision inside the courts. \u201cIt is a victory for the victims,\u201d wrote Beatrice Vaugrante, the special envoy from Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n
WASINGTON, D.C.: THE USA CONSIDERS THE ELIMINATION OF CUBA FROM THE LIST OF TERRORIST STATES
\nVarious high level diplomats from the U.S. State Department have concluded that Cuba should be eliminated from the list of terrorist states, according to an article published in The Boston Globe on Feb. 21. According to the article, the State Department has determined that the island \u201cno longer supports terrorist groups such as FARC or former members of ETA.\u201d The inclusion of a country on the list of terrorist states entails the veto of buying and selling arms, controls over exportation, the prohibition of economic support and the imposition of a wide range of financial restrictions. \u201cThe lifting of these sanctions would be beneficial to promote economic and political reforms that are now being timidly carried out on the island,\u201d stated Tomas Bilbao, executive director of the Cuban Study Group, an independent organization founded by professionals and Cuban-American and American businessmen. Currently, the terrorist country list contains Syria, Sudan and Iran.<\/p>\n
PERU: THE UNO CELEBRATED THE \u201cSUPER FOOD\u201d OF THE ANDINO COMMUNITY IN INITIATING THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE QUINUA
\n\u201cQuinoa can play an important role in eradicating hunger, malnutrition and poverty,\u201d said Jose Graziano da Silva, the general director of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Da Silva\u2019s remarks officially launched The International Year of the Quinoa at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, and Nadine Heredia de Humala, the First Lady of Peru, were among the high level participants at the launching ceremonies. Quinoa, an agricultural crop similar to a cereal of high nutritive value, is the only food of vegetable origins that contains all of the essential amino acids, the trace elements and the vitamins, and the capacity to adapt to different ecological environments and climates. Quinoa offers an alternative resource for countries that suffer from insufficient food sources. It is \u201can effective and viable option to fight against hunger and malnutrition,\u201d Humala said, emphasizing the importance of the role that women in agriculture have in the production of quinoa, a (indigenous) traditional crop.<\/p>\n
BOLIVIA: U.N. LIFTS BAN ON COCA CHEWING
\nIndigenous People\u2019s rights took another step forward this month when the United Nations removed the ban on chewing coca leaf from the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotics. In 2011, Bolivia removed itself from the Convention and reapplied six months later under the condition that signatory nations accept the tradition of chewing coca leaves, a very important part of many different indigenous cultures in Central and South America and the Caribbean. A12-month period, during which member nations were given time to object to the proposal, ended Jan. 10. There were 62 votes needed\u2014out of 184\u2014 to veto the proposal, with only 15 countries voting against it. Mexico, the United States and Canada all voted against it. On Jan.10, 2013, Bolivia was readmitted to the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotics and the ban on coca chewing was lifted as of Feb.10. (Sean Houlihan)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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