- via CNN Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega arrived Sunday evening in his home country, nearly 22 years after U.S. forces forcibly removed him from office. The 77-year-old was expected to head straight to prison to serve time for crimes committed during his rule. He will be flown to and housed in an individual cell Read More

- via Huffington Post In a controversial move, Puerto Rico may eliminate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) protections from the hate crimes statutes this week, according to reports.

- via BBC News Astronomers have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet in the “habitable zone” around a star not unlike our own. The planet, Kepler 22-b, lies about 600 light-years away and is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, and has a temperature of about 22C. It is the closest confirmed planet Read More

- via CNN Mexico City (CNN) — A high-profile Mexican peace movement blamed the country’s government Tuesday for the death of one of the group’s most vocal members. Nepomuceno Moreno Nunez, 56, was shot Monday afternoon as he crossed a street in Hermosillo, Sonora, authorities said. Investigators collected nine shell casings from the scene. “For Read More

- via The Boston Globe In Guatemala City, a place called “The Mine” can deliver both a means of survival and a grisly death. Every day, dozens of residents salvage a living by scouring the massive dump for scrap metal. Facing the threat of mudslides, collapses, and disease, they can potentially earn twice the daily Read More

There is a lot to admire about Brazil. Its national martial art is one of the coolest to look at. Its music can even make old women get up and dance, and its football stars are idolized the world around. Even economically, as I mentioned in a previous article, Brazil is in the middle of Read More

- via Change.org Paola Ziritti is unthinkably brave to speak publicly about the “clinic.” She endured physical assault, sexual abuse, and a constant battery of insults. Guards would even throw buckets of cold water and urine on her. For two years, this was Paola’s waking nightmare…because she’s a lesbian. The “doctors” and guards at the Read More

Being president of a country isn’t easy. There are political opponents always looking for excuses to rail against you, constituents to please and – oh yeah – a country to run. Let’s be honest, being a woman isn’t easy either, I know I’m a guy and I’ll never know what it’s like to be a Read More

via Houston Chronicle – An international group of online hackers is warning a Mexican drug cartel to release one of its members, kidnapped from a street protest, or it will publish the identities and addresses of the syndicate’s associates, from corrupt police to taxi drivers, as well as reveal the syndicates’ businesses. The vow is a bizarre Read More

via CNN – It was supposed to be an ordinary night out with friends for 20-year-old Zukiswa Gaca but it ended with her lying on a railway track attempting to take her own life. Gaca was at a bar, drinking with friends in Khayelitsha township, less than 40 kilometers outside Cape Town, South Africa, when a Read More