Modern Slavery Rears its Ugly Head in Chile

In recent years, Chile has become a source, transit, and destination hub for human trafficking victims, experts say. According to judicial authorities, forced labour and sexual exploitation are the crimes most frequently associated with this “modern form of slavery”.

UNAOC & BMW GROUP ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INTERCULTURAL INNOVATION AWARDS

The Intercultural Innovation Awards (IIA), sponsored by the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW group, were presented Wednesday  at a ceremony in Vienna.

U.S. Cuts to Global Health Budget “Mass-scale Malpractice”

Public health workers, activists and policymakers are stepping up a last-minute campaign to highlight the global health impact of historic, sweeping cuts to the U.S. federal budget due to go into effect Friday if Congress doesn’t act.

Power Sharing a “Dangerous Concept” for Kenya’s Democracy

Days ahead of Kenya’s general elections, the country’s former deputy Minister of Information Koigi Wamwere has slammed calls for power-sharing among minority ethnic groups in the next government, calling it a “dangerous concept”.

Media Discover the Limits of Freedom in Somalia

Media advocates in Somalia worry that a recent case against a journalists who exposed the story of a gang rape involving members of the national security forces will serve as a deterrent to journalists countrywide.

Stopping Uranium to Fight Off Nuclear

Local activists have begun protests in Slovakia after a government ministry appeared to give its backing to a controversial uranium mining project despite reassurances to people living near the proposed site that no mining would be allowed to take place.

Open Pit Miners Strike in Colombia

Two weeks into an indefinite strike called by workers at Cerrejón, one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world, the company has agreed to sit down again and negotiate with Colombia’s National Union of Coal Industry Workers (Sintracarbón).

Market Gardening Provides Livelihoods for Refugees in DR Congo

Standing behind her market stall in Masisu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which overflows with cabbages, carrots and onions, Marceline Dusabe does not fit the traditional profile of an internally displaced person. She, unlike many others displaced by the internal conflict in North Kivu, is not in need of food aid.

Mexico Mired in Oil Debates

Oil, the symbol of modern Mexico, is once again stirring up local political waters, with turbulent debates on the fate of the state-owned oil monopoly and conflicts over the privatisation of key economic and strategic areas.

Widening Social Divide Fuels Protest Mood in Kazakhstan

(EurasiaNet) - In the official narrative of Kazakhstan’s post-Soviet history, President Nursultan Nazarbayev is lauded for fostering widespread prosperity while maintaining inter-ethnic harmony.

Saving Heat from Going Down the Drain

Whenever hot water from the kitchen tap or the bathroom shower goes down the plughole, a substantial amount of heat energy goes with it. In some German buildings this is being recovered and used to heat buildings in the winter and run air conditioning systems in the summer, representing a real energy-saver.

Ensuring Respect For & Protection of Migrants

Despite a wide legal framework for the protection of migrants, and a wide range of international, regional and national organisations and institutions dedicated to safeguarding their rights, migrants continue to experience violence, abuse and exploitation, according to a panel discussion Wednesday.

Struggle to Keep Swaziland’s Primary Schools Free

As the Swazi government struggles to guarantee a no-cost nationwide primary school system, it finds itself sparring against school principals over the question if it is a lack of funds or an abundance of corruption that is standing in the way of its success.

Argentine Rights Violators under “House Arrest” Stroll the Streets

In spite of repeated violations of house arrest by people convicted of crimes against humanity during Argentina’s dictatorship, some activists remain in favour of this lenient alternative to prison, but they want better oversight by the courts.

Virtually At Sea in the Pacific

The Pacific Islands have some of the lowest rates of Internet penetration in the world, yet tech-savvy urbanites are behind the emergence of a number of social media sites dedicated to generating public debate and demanding government accountability. However, without real action, online forums speaking truth to power are constrained in impacting political and social reforms in the region.

Obama Pushes Universal Preschool Coverage for U.S.

Following on a surprise announcement supporting a universal preschool guarantee during his annual State of the Union address earlier this week, President Barack Obama spent much of Thursday pushing a suite of new policy initiatives aimed at vastly increasing access to high-quality education and development programmes for a child’s first few years of life.

BRICS Summit Means Business

African nations and other emerging countries are expected to soon outperform the developed world, and South Africa wants to take advantage.

Climate Change Threatens Caribbean Coral Reefs

Scientists and researchers are working together in a new initiative to collect data that will help determine the effects of climate change on coral in the Caribbean Sea.

African Troops Arrive As Divisions Fracture Malian Army

Soldiers belonging to the African-led International Support Mission to Mali continue to stream into this West African nation, as several hundred troops have already been deployed to secure towns across the country.

Radio: a Powerful Force for Shaping a More Peaceful & Sustainable Future

U.N. officials have hailed the enduring and transformative power of radio, not only as a means of sharing information with millions of people worldwide but also as a tool for shaping a more peaceful and sustainable future.

In the Land of Gas, the Residents Have None

The 19,000 inhabitants of the municipality of Caraparí, the area supplying a third of Bolivia’s gas exports, do not have access to gas or petrol, six years after the nationalisation of the mega deposit and almost a quarter century after its discovery.