El Salvador, a small country in Central America, is facing a Constitutional Crisis caused by a power struggle between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court.

The crisis started this year when FMLN (the left party that won the presidential elections in 2009) in an alliance with minority parties attempted to rush through the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court before the new National Assembly (in which FMLN had lost legislative majority) took office in May.

This in not the first time  this has happened in El Salvador. In 2006 when the right wing party ARENA had legislative majority, they did the same thing, electing judges twice in the same legislative period.

The Constitutional Court in June ruled that the 2006 and 2012 elections were unconstitutional and ordered new elections for 15 judges and their alternates. The Constitutional Court clearly stated that it is unconstitutional for an outgoing legislature to name justices to serve under the next session.

Despite this, the National Assembly was not willing to accept this verdict; they appealed to the Regional Central American Court of Justice, even though it has no authority to decide on El Salvador’s constitutional questions, which ruled  in favor of the National Assembly.

This led to several protests from the different organizations of the civil society that organized themselves in a movement called #Yomevistodeblanco (I dress myself in white) to express their indignation for the National Assembly’s actions against the Supreme Court.

Even with all the pressure, FMLN and the allied parties are not willing to repeal the judge’s election and stated that the Regional Central American Court of Justice has authority to decide over El Salvador’s constitutional matters.

This Monday a syndicalist group took over the Supreme Court building to guarantee that, although their election has been declared illegal by the Constitutional Court, the judges elected by the General Assembly were able to take office. The new judges elected by the General Assembly even had to use a locksmith to open the President of the Supreme Court office and some other areas of the building. The police officers that were near the area did not do anything to try to stop these actions.

The newly elected by the General Assembly, but declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, president of the Supreme Court, Ovidio Bonilla, was presented to a group of people by the president of the National Assembly Sigfrido Reyes (FMLN) and other members of the National Assembly from political party allies of FMLN.

ARENA is the only political party that is against the National Assembly election of the judges and supports the Constitutional Court rulings that declared the 2006 and 2012 elections unconstitutional, even though in the 2006 election they were the ones who had legislative majority. They recently announced they don’t recognize Ovidio Bonilla as the president of the Supreme Court, based on the Constitutional Court’s Ruling.

The US Senate is also concerned with El Salvador’s situation. The Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio said that the United States does not have the obligation to continue collaborating with a country that is violating its own Constitution and its own laws, which were achieved by the Salvadorian people with great sacrifice. The Senator warned that they have to check their help programs, like the Millennium Challenge Account from which El Salvador has received more than $400 million, because they are only intended for countries that are achieving progress in their democracies.

The situation is critical, with two separate groups of judges claiming to be the country’s lawful Supreme Court, but only one is the legitimate one; the Salvadorian crisis is similar to the one suffered in Nicaragua when the Sandinistas took over the Supreme Court.

Image Courtesy of   MINEX GUATEMALA

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Surfing is one of the oldest and most physically demanding sports in the world. With origins in Hawaii, surfing has grown into an internationally famous sport and has produced a large surf culture. The energizing adrenaline rush often experienced while surfing is exactly what surfers travel the world to discover.

World class surfing destinations have sprouted up in famous places, as well as overlooked parts of the world. One of the legendary surfing locations in the world is right on the islands where the sport took shape. The North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii is often considered to be one of the most dangerous, but optimal surfing locations in the surfing world.

The constant presence of unique waves ranging from 3 to 10 feet allow for surf enthusiasts to challenge themselves on large waves. The North Shore is host to the Triple Crown of Surfing, which includes the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing, Billabong Pipeline Masters and Reef Hawaiian Pro. Professional surfers from around the world convene on the North Shore every December for these events.

Located at Ehukai Beach is the world renowned Banzai Pipeline, an elusive wave that is the epitome of extreme surfing. It is known to be a very dangerous wave and only the most skillful surfers dare to challenge its waves. Experiencing the waves on the North Shore is highly recommended for advanced surfers and is often considered to be the best spot in the world for the sport.

The tropical waters of French Polynesia are also a highly desired surfing location. Teahupo’o, located in Tahiti, is an area surfers travel to in search of the perfect wave. Waves in Teahupo’o usually reach upwards of 10 feet and provide consistent conditions for the sport. It is the site of the Billabong Pro Tahiti surfing competition and constantly attracts professionals.

Teahupo’o is known for its extreme barrels and like the waves on the North Shore of Hawaii, are dangerous for even the most professional surfers. Chasing these severe waves has become a drivingforce for those who travel to Teahupo’o, often having to be towed in to these waves just to ride them.

The Central American countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua have been steadily climbing the favorability ladder in terms of being an optimal surfing destinations. Costa Rica has many spots where surfers can enjoy the ocean, including Jaco, Tamarindo, and Hermosa. The beaches and waves are easily accessible from these coastal towns and surf schools have emerged in these areas.

There are over 700 miles of beach to choose from in Costa Rica, making it one of the most desirable surfing destinations. Nicaragua offers prime year round surfing conditions and consistently warm waters. In contrast with neighboring Costa Rica, Nicaragua offers more secluded beaches and less crowded waves.

The Popoyo Surf Lodge on Playa Guasacate is the first surf camp established in Nicaragua and continues to be a favorite. Surfers are constantly in search for increasingly difficult waves to provide an adrenaline rush. Sleepy coastal communities around the world have exploded in popularity because of their proximity and direct access to some of the most favorable surf conditions.

With waves rising well over 10 feet, areas in Hawaii, Tahiti, Central America, are just some of the world renowned surfing destinations.

 
Mana Photo / Shutterstock.com

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Last night, Quito welcomed the Spanish Singer Enrique Iglesias, who started his tour “Euphoria”.

The concert began Yesterday 30^th of June, at 20:00 P.M local time, in the Capital of Ecuador, Quito at the Rumiñahui Coliseum.

The Romanian DJ Edward Maya, winner of a Billboard opened the concert. Spicing up the atmosphere with some electronic dance music.

Enrique entered the stage and his words of wisdom for his audience were: “Quito…Tonight I’m fuc%&$ you”.

The singer performed an amazing show, accompanied with incredible music, dances and even some kisses. He sang the new songs from his recent album Euphoria. Which is the number 9th album that he recorded. The album was released on July 5th of 2010, and it features many artists such as:  Akon, Usher, Juan Luis Guerra, Pitbull, Nicole Scherzinger, Wisin and Yandel and Ludacris.

He brought on stage a lucky girl from the audience. But the things begin to turn a bit hot when he started singing to her the song, “Hero”. To heat things a little bit, and give the audience something to talk about. He begin to sing to the girl in a sensually manner, and kissed her on the mouth.

There have been already previous concerts, where he has already kissed a fan. But every time he makes sure his shows keep rising the degrees and makes things CALIENTES!

The tickets cost $35  (General) $75 (V.I.P) and $130 (Blackbox)

The tour will keep going until the end of October.

The upcoming concerts throughout South and Central America are:

• La Paz, Bolivia: July 2, 2011
• Santa Cruz, Bolivia, July 5, 2011
• 3.Caracas, Venezuela, July 7, 2011
• 4.Tegucigalpa, Honduras, July 9, 2011

Then the Artist will head up to Australia:

• 5. July 23, Sydney Aus
• 6. July 25 Brisbane, Aus
• 7. July 27 Melbourne, Aus
• 8. July 28, Melbourne, Victoria, Aus

And to end things up he will head to U.S.A, where in most of the concerts Pitbull will be the special guest.

• Starting September 22nd in Boston
• September 23, Philadelphia, pa
• September 24, Newark, NJ
• September 27, Washington, DC
• September 29 Toronto
• September 30 Detroit
• October 1 Chicago
• October 3 Kansas City
• October 6, Los Angeles
• October 7, San Jose
• October 8, Las Vegas
• October 12, Houston
• October 13, San Antonio
• October 15 El Paso
• October 16 Laredo
• October 18, Dallas
• October 20 Atlanta
• October 21 Orlando

The last day of the tour, will be the 22nd of October in Miami Florida.

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