Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warmly received Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Brasilia today and defended Tehran's right to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Lula, who has taken flak for hosting the controversial Ahmadinejad, said a "just and balanced solution" should be found to international concerns about Iran's nuclear development program. Iran says its program is for civilian energy purposes, but the U.S. and many other Western powers allege Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

"We recognize Iran’s right to develop a peaceful nuclear program in compliance with international accords," Lula said in a prepared speech at a news conference with Ahmadinejad, according to Reuters. The Brazilian leader then turned to his guest and said: "I encourage you to continue engaging interested countries to seek a just and balanced solution on the Iranian nuclear issue."

Lula said earlier that other nations should engage Iran in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East despite Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust and expressed desire to see Israel disappear.

"There's no point in leaving Iran isolated," Lula reportedly said on his radio program before the two leaders met. "It's important that someone sits down with Iran, talks with Iran and tries to establish some balance so that the Middle East can return to a certain sense of normalcy."

Iranian officials have said Tehran hopes to expand trade with Brazil in the petrochemical, energy, agricultural and medical fields.

— Chris Kraul in Bogota, Colombia

El Salvador's government last week honored six Jesuit priests slain by the army in 1989, presenting gold medallions to their relatives for the priests' "extraordinary service to the nation." Los Angeles Times editorial writer Marjorie Miller covered the executions as a foreign correspondent. Miller has written today about the slow healing that the nation has undertaken, in a column titled "In El Salvador, a grim reflection, and a glimmer of hope"

Six Jesuit priests rousted from their beds in the night lay face down on the lawn, arms still stretched over their heads in a futile gesture of self-defense, skulls shattered by bullets. The University of Central America had been an intellectual oasis in El Salvador's civil war, but in the middle of a guerrilla offensive on the capital, the army moved in to kill those it saw as the brains behind the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front.

As I look back on those executions that I covered as a reporter 20 years ago in one of the last battles of the Cold War, I am struck by despair and hope. Despair, because what we saw in those days as a figurative beheading of the guerrilla movement has become both literal and routine in today's conflicts in Iraq and South Asia. Hope, because this year, nearly two decades after the Farabundo Marti front traded guns for politics, the right-wing party that had long ruled El Salvador peacefully transferred power to the left for the first time. President Mauricio Funes, the Farabundo Marti party's candidate, was educated by Jesuits at the University of Central America.

To read the rest, click here.

From our archives: An account of the priests' slaying in 1989. Also, two pieces by Miller in the aftermath of the bloody civil war in 1992, "Of Peace Accords and Firecrackers: A Christmas in El Salvador" and "Wounds of War."

Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Brazil's government should hear native Indians before deciding on the construction of a controversial $17.3 billion hydroelectric dam in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, rock star and environmental activist Sting said Sunday.

Brasilia, Brazil -- Hundreds of Brazilians protested the impending visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, citing his animosity toward Israel, his government's controversial nuclear activities and his declarations against homosexuals.

Caracas, Venezuela -- Venezuela has no interest in talking directly to Colombia to end months of tensions between the two countries but would support an effort by other South American nations to broker a solution, a top government official said.

Caracas, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez hailed the forthcoming arrival of 300 Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles, and urged civilians to join government-organized militias to be ready to defend Venezuela from a foreign invasion.

-- Times wire reports

A woman described by Venezuelan authorities as an important leader of a Colombian paramilitary group has been captured, the justice minister said today.

Interpol had called for the arrest of Magaly Janeth Moreno Vega, who was wanted by Colombian officials on homicide charges, said Venezuelan Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami. He referred to the 39-year-old suspect as a paramilitary chief for the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC.

Authorities said she was captured Thursday in Maracaibo, Venezuela. El Aissami said Moreno, nicknamed "The Pearl," deals with "extremely important information" for the paramilitary group.

El Aissami, who spoke on state television, accused Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of "institutional and moral decay" for his government's ties to paramilitary groups that "attack our people and threaten peace and order." 

Moreno previously worked as an investigator for Colombian prosecutors and was detained with her boss several years ago on accusations of aiding militias, according to news reports. Moreno was convicted on conspiracy charges tied to various crimes after she acknowledged working for paramilitary boss Jorge Ivan Laverde, who has said he participated in the killings of more than 2,000 people, the Associated Press reported.

Officials have said Moreno fled when prison officials granted her a temporary parole.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Five Los Angeles City Council members this week pledged to donate $2,000 each to help storm victims in El Salvador.

Council Members Jose Huizar, Eric Garcetti (council president), Ed Reyes, Tony Cardenas and Richard Alarcon promised a donation totaling $10,000 to a local disaster relief agency focused on El Salvador. 

Torrential rains in the Central American nation this month triggered flooding and mudslides that left dozens of people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes, officials said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a press release that Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Salvadorans outside El Salvador and that his prayers are with the victims.

-- Paula Diaz / HOY

Salvador, Brazil — Brazil’s President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday joined visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in calling on Israel to stop building new settlements in areas claimed by Palestinians.

Bogota, Colombia — Six people, including two children, were killed when suspected Colombian FARC guerrillas stopped and set fire to a bus traveling in the south of the country, a state governor said.

Guatemala City — Guatemalan officials announced the resumption of international adoptions after a nearly two-year suspension prompted by the discovery that some babies were being sold.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras — A Honduran television station that backs deposed President Manuel Zelaya accused the de facto government of interfering with its broadcast signal, replacing news programs with cowboy movies.

Mexico City — Rising oil prices and increased exports are slowly dragging Mexico’s economy out of a severe recession, but the nation’s financial system still faces fundamental challenges, national leaders and experts said.

-- Times wire reports

Gang members in Peru face charges of killing people and draining their fat for use in cosmetics, police said today.

Police showed journalists two bottles of fat that authorities said were recovered from two suspects and a photograph of a rotting head believed to be of a male victim. The suspects allegedly told police the fat was worth $60,000 per gallon.

Police Col. Jorge Mejia said three suspects who confessed to five killings told authorities the fat was sold in Lima, the capital. One suspect said the gang severed body parts and then suspended the torsos, collecting  fat in tubs placed underneath, Mejia said.

Police named the group the “Pishtacos” after a Peruvian myth dating to pre-Columbian times of men who killed to extract human fat, quartering their victims with machetes, the Associated Press reported. The gang, which has several suspected members who are not yet in custody, allegedly operated in the Huanuco province, police said.

Several medical experts said fat has cosmetic uses, but the idea of an international black market for human fat was hard to believe.

 “I can’t see why there would be a black market for fat,” said Dr. Adam Katz, a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Virginia medical school, according to AP. “It doesn’t make any sense at all because in most countries we can get fat so readily and in such amounts from people who are willing and ready to donate that I don’t see why there would ever be a black market for fat, of all tissues.”

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Mexican authorities predict a decline in the number of Mexican nationals returning to their country during the holiday season due to the current economic crisis and the necessity of having a passport to re-enter the United States, according to Cecilia Romero Castillo, Commissioner of Mexico’s National Institute of Migration.  “According to our estimates, approximately 850,000 individuals will return this year, whereas last year the number was more than 1 million,”  she said.

Romero Castillo was in Los Angeles this week to attend the opening of the Feria Paisano, which was founded 20 years ago to educate Mexican and foreign nationals on the regulations for entry into Mexico. The commissioner emphasized that, thanks to new controls the Mexican government has imposed, both extortion attempts and abuses of immigrants have diminished. According to statistics, authorities received approximately 370 complaints between 2008 and 2009. The issue receiving the greatest number of complaints, more one-third, is extortion.

“Additionally,” added Romero Castillo, “the majority of complaints, 28%, have been against state and local police departments, with the state of Tamaulipas receiving the greatest number.” 

The Mexican government is also attempting to improve the situation of Central American immigrants in Mexico on their way to the United States, according to Romero Castillo. “We ask the U.S. government for fair treatment of our citizens, and we are working to do the same for Central Americans who enter our country. For example, we now have an identification card for Guatemalan citizens which can be presented to the police to prevent abuses.”

Romero Castillo said that the Mexican government is also working with their states to bring the so-called “brains of the operation” (human trafficking), known as “coyotes,” to justice.

-- Paula Diaz/HOY

To read the full story in Spanish this Friday, go to www.vivelohoy.com

Kenneth Turan reviews "2012," the latest disaster movie portraying the end of the world. The movie is directed by Roland Emmerich, who seems to be stuck on the same theme, after movies like "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Independence Day."

"2012" is based on a premise apparently laid out in an ancient carved monument found in the Mayan region, which covers the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and parts of Central America. The region has been home to the indigenous Maya people since 900 BC.

But Canadian archaeologist Kathryn Reese-Taylor, who teaches at the University of Calgary, says in a statement that although the monument, called the Tortuguero Monument Six, refers to the date Dec. 21, 2012, it is not an end-of-the-world prophecy. She says the translation of the text essentially says that something will occur on Dec. 21, 2012 and that it will be similar to something that occurred on another date in the past.

"We don’t know what that past occurrence was or what the future occurrence will be. At no point do any of the Maya texts actually prophesize the end of the world," she said. Reese-Taylor says that the prophecy has never meant the end of the world among the Maya people and that it is North Americans who have created this interpretation.

“The idea of a Maya prophecy emerged in the 1970s when North American journalists and writers began to cherry-pick ideas from the Maya, Aztec and Hopi cultures and created what they now call the Maya prophecy.”

Looks like Hollywood's creative license is at work again.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, thinks Mexico's reaction to the global economic crisis has been one of the worst anywhere. 

"Statistics showing growth have been very weak and pessimistic" for Mexico, Stiglitz said. "The combination of a very weak recovery in the United States and a fiscal policy that doesn't stimulate the Mexican economy is worrying." Stiglitz spoke to attendees of an event organized by Grupo Mexicana and Grupo Posadas, two major Mexican companies.

El Universal newspaper reported that Stiglitz said Mexico's position in the face of this crisis was "unusual."

"In contrast, countries such as Australia, which was the first country in the developed world to emerge from the recession," Stiglitz said, "applied strong measures through a packet of well-defined incentives."

Although Mexico is dependent on the U.S economy, that represents a risk, he warned.

"Many people hope that a recovery in the U.S will be the solution," he said. "But Mexico needs an alternative."

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Immigrants in the United States surpassed native-born workers in several key ways from the mid-1990s through 2007, recording higher employment and lower jobless rates.

But that trend was reversed with the onset of the current recession, according to the latest report from the Migration Policy Institute.

The report titled  "Tied to the Business Cycle: How Immigrants Fare in Good and Bad Economic Times" analyzes employment and unemployment patterns over the last 15 years and two recessions. It shows that economic measurements for immigrants began deteriorating before the current recession officially began in December 2007, tracing immigrants' declining fortunes largely to the housing bust that began in spring 2006.

Immigrants now comprise 13% of the U.S. population and a slightly larger share -- more than 15% -- of the labor force. The report goes on to say about immigrants from Latin America:

"The fact that Latino immigrants have particularly cyclical labor market outcomes is interesting because several forces exacerbate cyclicality while others smooth outcomes among this group. The relatively low education levels among Latin American immigrants increase their vulnerability to the business cycle. Unauthorized immigration also plays a role. Over half of Mexican immigrants are in the United States illegally, and the number of workers illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border changes quickly in response to shifts in employment conditions in the United States. This illegal immigration tends to increase the cyclicality of Latin American immigrants' employment and unemployment rates because many unauthorized immigrants enter only when they can find work," says the report.

Click on the links to the report above to find out more about the research.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

The largest Hispanic media company in the United States has agreed to feature short and full-length programs on YouTube, including new and archived programs from the Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision networks, Reuters and AFP report.

The agreement is the latest in several YouTube ventures with major entertainment partners, reports the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Revenue will come from ads featured around the programs, and Univision will receive most of it, Reuters says.

YouTube has also created a citizen journalism tool, YouTube Direct, which allows news organizations to request and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from users. You can read about it here on the YouTube blog.

Read more on this story here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Members of the Los Angeles-area electoral board that will oversee local voting in the Nov. 29 Honduran presidential election have been sworn in by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Honduras. There are 10 people on the board, with representatives from six Honduran political parties.

“We’re working to organize the entire election process in Los Angeles,” said Zulma Gutierrez, president of the board and a member of the Christian Democratic Party. “Currently we’re passing out ID cards to people who applied for them more than two months ago."

The tribunal gave the board 1,029 identification cards for the upcoming election.  Gutierrez said Hondurans are particularly interested in voting in this election "because they want change.”

Honduran national Noemi Xiomara Sabillon, who came to the board’s office in downtown Los Angeles to pick up her registration card, said, “I’m very happy to have this because ... it gives me a voice in my country. We need to return peace and democracy to Honduras.”

The Central American country has been plagued by unrest since the June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Polling places in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans and Washington will be open to Hondurans registered to vote.

--Paula Diaz/HOY

Photo: Noemi Xiomara Sabillon receives her voter identification card from a member of the Los Angeles-area electoral board.  Credit: Paula Diaz

To read the full story in Spanish this Friday, visit http://www.vivelohoy.com/losangeles

Peru today pressed accusations that Chile is assaulting its sovereignty, saying an air force officer has confessed to passing national security secrets to its South American neighbor.

The proof of espionage includes an Internet address allegedly used by the Peruvian officer to provide information to Chile and money transfers, Peru's chief Cabinet Minister Javier Velasquez told America Television. Chilean military officers are among others suspected in a spy ring, Velasquez said.

The Velasquez comments followed those by Peruvian President Alan Garcia, who on Monday said Chile was buying national security secrets.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet responded today by calling Garcia's comments "offensive and haughty" and saying they "do not contribute to the integration and cooperation that neighbors should enjoy," according to Reuters.  The Chilean government has denied any involvement in the alleged spying.

Late last week, a judge in Peru ratified charges against Victor Ariza, 45, and an unidentified member of the air force for allegedly revealing national secrets, espionage and money laundering, according to media reports.

— Efrain Hernandez Jr.

A gay couple received a marriage license in Buenos Aires today, a victory in their legal battle to become "man and man" during World Aids Day on Dec. 1.

A judge ruled last week that a ban on gay marriage violates Argentina's constitution and then granted the couple, Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre, permission to wed.

“On December 1st we will become man and man,” a teary-eyed Di Bello said as a clerk gave him the documentation, according to the Associated Press.

Freyre and Di Bello sued the city after they were denied a marriage license earlier this year. Judge Gabriela Seijas ruled that the nation's provisions for equality may not be violated by restrictions allowing only heterosexual marriages.

World Aids Day features efforts around the globe to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Venezuela's efforts to combat severe drought conditions may include President Hugo Chavez going airborne with scientists as they try to generate rain from clouds.

Chavez has said a team of Cuban scientists are in Venezuela to fly aircraft with special equipment designed to influence weather patterns, specifically to bring on much-needed precipitation.

“I’m going in a plane; any cloud that crosses me, I’ll zap it so that it rains,” Chavez said late Saturday, according to Reuters.

Though Chavez did not explain what method would be tried in Venezuela, many countries have attempted to influence weather through what is often referred to as cloud seeding. The practice involves shooting substances into clouds, such as silver iodide, salts and dry ice, that bring on the formation of large raindrops, triggering a downpour. 

Meteorologists in China actually used similar "weather modification" techniques to try to prevent rain during the 2008 Summer Olympics by reducing the size of raindrops and delaying any rainfall.

The drought in Venezuela has resulted in water rationing and government calls for residents to do whatever they can to save water, including taking shorter showers.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

Photo: Venezuelan President Chavez greets supporters at a recent protest in Caracas against installation of U.S. military bases in Colombia.  Credit: Reuters

Former leftist guerrilla Cesare Battisti may be ready to die of hunger in a Brazilian prison rather than face multiple murder charges in Italy, his home country.

Battisti, who is wanted in Italy on four murder charges, reportedly went on a hunger strike and gave Brazilian Sen. Jose Nery a letter addressed to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva saying he favors death in Brazil.

“I am ready to die if I have to but never at the hands of my executioners,” Battisti's letter said, according to Reuters.

The 54-year-old Battisti denies responsibility for the deaths, which occurred in the 1970s when he belonged to a group called Armed Proletarians for Communism.

Battisti's judicial fate is in the hands of Brazil's Supreme Court, which is expected to make a decision on whether to extradite him.

Earlier this year Lula granted Battisti political refugee status, but Italy considers him a terrorist. He escaped from an Italian prison in 1981 and lived in France for years, then fled when his extradition was approved in 2006, Reuters reported. He was on the run when he was arrested in Brazil.

-- Efrain Hernandez Jr.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico decried Forbes magazine’s decision to name the country’s most-wanted drug lord to its “World’s Most Powerful People,” calling it an insult to the government’s bloody struggle against drug cartels.

 A spokesman for the Interior Department — which oversees domestic security — described the listing of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman as No. 41 of the 67 most powerful people as “a justification of crime.”

 “(This) is a mockery of the struggle the government is waging against organized crime,” Luis Estrada said. “This not only goes against the efforts of the Mexican government, but the international fight to eliminate mafias and organized crime.”

Photo courtesy Fanny Garcia/Designing Digital Pixels

 

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s relationship is not in crisis, as was reported everywhere recently.

New rumors surfaced when Jennifer was seen walking alone on the red carpet for the premiere of Michael Jackson's movie "This Is It" a few weeks ago, leaving some to wonder: Where is Marc?

But Wednesday night, Jennifer was sitting front row enjoying her husband’s concert at the Gibson Amphitheater. The famous actress, singer, model and entrepreneur looked happy and in love.

Marc dedicated the song "Valio La Pena" and blew kisses to her several times during the show.

Too bad we couldn’t get pictures of the Puerto Rican Diva. The Gibson´s security team was instructed that anyone approaching JLo should be escorted out, apart from confiscating the camera card.

On Friday, November 13th, Marc will hold another concert at the Honda Center in Anaheim and surely Jennifer will be in the front row.

It seems it will be a family Thanksgiving and Christmas after all for the Muñiz-Lopez couple and their children, Max and Emme, at their Long Island, New York mansion.

--Tommy Calle/Hoy

To read this and other stories in Spanish, visit http://www.vivelohoy.com/losangeles

The 11th annual Los Premios de la Radio concert Tuesday at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles drew thousands of people hoping to see their favorite Mexican regional singers.

But two much awaited stars, Jenni Rivera and Alejandro Fernandez, left hundreds of fans and the media disappointed when they stayed off the red carpet at the LA Live venue.

It’s amazing how celebrities’ attitudes appear to change for different events, even at the same location. A few weeks ago, Michael Jackson fans, dressed like him packed the venue for the premier of "This Is It." On Tuesday night, fans had donned hats and cowboy boots.

Some stars who walked the red carpet then, included Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Love Hewitt and many more who did not shy from shaking hands with fans and posing for photos.

Meanwhile, at Los Premios de la Radio, which for the last 10 years was held at the Gibson Amphitheater, both "El Potrillo" and "La Diva de la Banda" refused to speak with the media or  fans.

But others who did oblige by walking the red carpet Tuesday night were Vicky and Marisol, members of Los Horoscopos de Durango, Lupillo and Juan Rivera and Los Tucanes de Tijuana. Also on hand were some telenovela actors, and the host of the show, Adal Ramones.

The difference in star attitudes for "This is It" and "Los Premios de la Radio" appear to show the big distinction between how they treat English and Spanish media. Despite the presence of hundreds of television, print and cable outlets at the latter, some celebrities did not find it important to give them, or their fans, a few minutes of their time.

— Tommy Calle/HOY

 
To read the full story in Spanish this Friday, visit vivelohoy.com/losangeles