Daily News Channel
When I started covering Latin America 20 years ago, a leftist source asked what books I’d read to help myself understand the region’s manera de pensar, or psyche. I fidgeted and mentioned Octavio Paz’s Labyrinth of Solitude. He shrugged.
It’s the return of an American president to Mexico City.
U.S.
As the Defense Department weighs options to prevent a repeat of the drama that unfolded on the seas this weekend, those who patrol the waters say pirates must be rooted out before they leave land. Pentagon planners are preparing a variety of options for dealing with Somali pirates, and a United Nations resolution gives them the authority to conduct operations inside Somalia. “The ultimate solution for piracy is on land,” said Vice Adm.
If Europe occasionally winces at accusations that it is not pulling its weight in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, it has been prouder of its take-charge role in combating Somalia’s relentless pirates. However, much like the Afghan war, that effort appears to be floundering in the face of a relentless, quickly adapting and resurgent enemy — despite successes like Sunday’s dramatic rescue of Richard Phillips, the American ship captain held hostage since Wednesday by defiant Somali pirates
Pirates near Somalia’s coastline attacked a cargo ship Wednesday with a crew of at least 20 U.S. nationals, according to the company that owns the vessel.
An emergency worker fought back tears amid the rubble of Italy’s deadliest earthquake in decades. Helicopters buzzed overhead, and sirens echoed across the region
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy early Monday, killing 20 people, including four children, Italian media reported. Italian civil protection agency officials would not confirm a death toll.
South Korea scored a late goal Wednesday to defeat North Korea 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying match set amid the backdrop of heightened political tensions in the region. Substitute Kim Chi-Woo scored in the 88th minute when his left-footed free kick went past defenders and into the back of the net. Replays showed that a North Korean defender may have deflected the ball just enough to prevent goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae from the save.
Asia’s economic growth will tumble to the slowest pace since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released Tuesday. “The short term outlook for the region is bleak as the full impact of the severe recession in industrialized economies is transmitted to emerging markets,” said Jong-Wha Lee, acting chief economist for the ADB. The Asian Development Outlook 2009 forecasts that economic growth in developing Asia will slip to 3.4 percent in 2009, down from 6.3 percent last year and 9.5 percent in 2007.