Chilean director Pablo Larrain's oscar-nominated 'NO', is to be released in the UK association with Amnesty International next week. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal NO tells the true story of an advertising executive in Chile recruited by the opposition to help them defeat a referendum that would allow Augusto Pinochet to rule for another eight years.
The resulting 'No' campaign succeeded in ending over 16 years of military dictatorship, and is a powerful representation of the change we can achieve when we come together to stand against oppression. 2013 marks 40 years since a bloody coup led by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically-elected government of Chile and the beginning of a regime that committed horrific human rights abuses for more than 16 years.Special screenings will be taking place across the UK with members of the Chilean community present for a post-film discussion at most to answer questions and discuss the situation in the country then and now.
Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame announces first inductees
The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame announced the iconic songwriters chosen to be recognized and incorporated into the newly formed organization. The composers are Armando Manzanero, Concha Miranda Valdez, Jose Angel Espinosa “Ferrusquilla”, Jose Feliciano, Julio Iglesias, and Manuel Alejandro.
These Latin music icons will be honoured with the statue ‘La Musa’, created especially for LSHOF. The historic first awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday April 23, 2013, at the New World Center in Miami Beach, which will be hosted by John Leguizamo.
Spanish newspaper retracts fake photos of Chavez
Last week, early editions of Spain's leading newspaper, El Pais, displayed a large front-page photo claiming to be an "unprecedented" and "exclusive" look at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's medical treatment in Cuba.
However, the intubated man lying in a hospital bed shown in the photo wasn't Chavez, the newspaper soon discovered, and it began backtracking. El Pais took down the photo, which was on the newspaper's website for about 30 minutes, and also recalled the early editions of its newspaper from newsstands.
"After learning that the image offered did not correspond to Chavez, El Pais also stopped distributing the print edition and started to send a new edition to retail outlets," the newspaper said in a statement on its website, explaining the retraction and apologizing to readers.
Ex-Dictator Is Ordered to Trial in Guatemalan War Crimes Case
On Monday, a Guatemalan judge ordered former dictator Efraín Rios Montt and his intelligence chief to stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with the massacres of villagers in remote highlands three decades ago.
The ruling clears the way for a public trial for Montt, a former general who ruled Guatemala for 17 months in 1982 and 1983 during the bloodiest period of the country’s long-running civil war. It is a stunning decision for Guatemala, where the military still wields significant power behind the scenes and the country’s elected governments have struggled to build democratic institutions.
“The principle function of the state and its officials is to protect its citizens,” said Judge Miguel Angel Gálvez before finding that there was sufficient evidence to try Montt, 86, and another former general, José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez.
The two are accused because they had final command over troops that killed 1,771 people in the Mayan-Ixil region as soldiers carried out a scorched-earth campaign to hunt down left-wing guerrillas.
In a telephone interview after the judge’s ruling was announced, the prosecutor, Orlando López, said that all the evidence the attorney general’s office had submitted, including the testimony of 140 witnesses and internal military documents from the time, was enough to ensure that a trial would go ahead.
Band’s firework blamed for deadly nightclub fire in Brazil
The death toll has reached 235 people after a nightclub fire on Sunday in the Brazilian city of Santa María. Four people have been arrested in connection with the blaze, Brazil's deadliest in five decades. One of those detained is the co-owner of the nightclub.
A member of the band Gurizada Fandangueira, blamed by Mr Arigony for the start of the flames, has also been arrested. "The pyrotechnics were part of their show. The guys even wore gloves on stage so they wouldn't burn their hands," the policeman – who lost a cousin in the fire – told reporters. He added that the band chose a £0.80 outdoor flare at a local shop over the £22 indoor variety.
Authorities say that more than 120 people are being treated in hospitals, and around 70 are said to be in critical condition. Brazil is marking three days of national mourning, while politicians discuss what measures can be taken to prevent such a tragedy happening again.
The fire has prompted widespread domestic concern about Brazil's ability to host major sporting tournaments in the next four years. The 2014 World Cup is set to be hosted in 12 Brazilian cities, while the 2016 Olympics are to take place in Rio de Janeiro.
Mexico missing band: Bodies found in well
Officials in Mexico say they have found four more bodies in a well in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, bringing the total to twelve. Of those, four have so far been identified as members of the band Kombo Kolombia, which was reported missing after playing a gig last week.
Twenty members of Kombo Kolombia were feared kidnapped when they disappeared after playing a gig on Thursday night. Police said one of the band members managed to escape from the kidnappers.
He led officers to the well, where they found the bodies. Some of them were wearing the band's distinctive T-shirts. Forensic experts said there might be more bodies in the well than the twelve they had recovered so far.
Relatives had reported the band's twelve musicians and eight crew members missing on Friday because the men were not answering their mobile phones.
Bag from missing Missoni plane found on Curacao
A bag from a missing plane carrying a member of the famed Missoni fashion house has been found on the Caribbean island of Curacao, according to U.S. Missoni spokeswoman Angela Mariani.
The plane went missing off the coast of Venezuela on January 4 with Vittorio Missoni, his wife and four others on board.
According to Mariani, the bag belonged to an Italian tourist whose plane took off just minutes after the Missoni plane departed. Because there was no room on the tourist's plane for his bag, it was put on the Missoni plane. The bag was discovered by a German tourist on the island of Curacao, about 124 miles west of Los Roques.
