Americas | GlobalPost

Colombia robbed in more ways than one during South African trip

Nicolas BrulliardMay 28, 2010 14:09

Colombia’s national soccer team is not about to forget its short stay in South Africa. The South American players, who failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, may have felt hard done by when they discovered after practice earlier this week that their hotel rooms had been robbed, but their hardship continued when several controversial calls by Kenyan referee Langat Samwel Kipngetich contributed to their 2-1 defeat to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

Survey work underway for Cuba's undersea internet hook up

Nick MiroffMay 28, 2010 13:33

A Chinese vessel has arrived in eastern Cuba after several weeks of survey work on a route for Cuba's first high-speed data link to the outside world, according to Cuban government news agencies. The long-awaited undersea fiber optic cable would give the island 3,000 times more bandwidth than its current satellite connections, according to reports, and the $70 million Cuba-Venezuela joint venture will be completed some time early next year.

On the Colombian campaign trail

Nadja DrostMay 25, 2010 18:17Updated May 30, 2010 13:36

Opinion: Close look at Colombian elections

Mauricio CardenasMay 26, 2010 10:28Updated May 30, 2010 13:35

WASHINGTON — Colombia will hold its presidential elections on May 30. Until recently, pundits took for granted that the winner would be someone with a strong connection with President Alvaro Uribe. Political trends took an unexpected direction in March suggesting that the electorate, although highly supportive of Uribe as a person, wants some change.

War takes a backseat

John OtisMay 21, 2010 11:13

BOGOTA, Colombia — Since Colombia’s presidential campaign kicked off, polls have predicted that none of the six candidates will get more than 50 percent of the vote, the threshold required for victory in the May 30 first-round election.

In Brazil, mania for a childhood pastime

Seth KugelMay 24, 2010 07:00Updated May 30, 2010 13:34

SAO PAULO, Brazil — If she were an American 15-year-old, Gabrielly Sartori would almost certainly not be collecting baseball cards. But the soft-spoken, bespectacled Brazilian teenager has spent the last few weeks madly collecting their distant cousin, World Cup cards. The cards — which are really stickers — feature players, teams, coaches and even the South African stadiums that in mid-June will become the sporting focus of Planet Earth.

Opinion: Uranium swap declaration improved Turkey's hand

Ozgur UnluhisarcikliMay 19, 2010 21:25Updated May 30, 2010 13:34

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The joint declaration of the ministers of foreign affairs of Turkey, Iran and Brazil signed on Monday came as a surprise to the international community. But the United States’ reaction to the uranium swap agreement, and the Turkish interpretation of this reaction, once more highlighted the gap between the U.S. and Turkey in their approaches to what is one of the most important issues on the transatlantic agenda.

Brazil's triumph on Iran shortlived

Seth KugelMay 19, 2010 06:50Updated May 30, 2010 13:34

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leveled an indirect diplomatic blow at Brazil yesterday when she told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the U.N. Security Council’s permanent members had agreed upon a draft of sanctions against Iran.

Where the Haiti earthquake is on everyone's minds

Christopher Livesay May 22, 2010 09:24Updated May 30, 2010 13:34

This package is part of a joint project between GlobalPost and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. It was reported and produced by students at Columbia. NEW YORK — Four months after the earthquake that pounded Haiti into rubble, the story has fallen off of newspaper front pages, replaced by this month’s hot news: an enormous oil spill, a Times Square bombing averted, the Dow’s mysterious gyrations.

Fear and loathing on the Colombian border

John OtisMay 18, 2010 14:27

BOGOTA, Colombia — Success in the war against Marxist rebels was supposed to pave the way to the presidency for Juan Manuel Santos, who stepped down as Colombia’s defense minister last year to run in the May 30 elections. But now, Santos is dealing with some major blowback.