Mexican migrants to get US maps

from BBC News


A Mexican government agency is to issue some 70,000 maps marking main roads and water tanks for people wanting to cross illegally into the US.

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Last year the Mexican government issued comic-book style pamphlets warning of the dangers of illegal migration, while also giving advice on how to stay safe.

LA Times Series on the UFW

UFW: A BROKEN CONTRACT, a multipart series from the LA Times
Farmworkers Reap Little as Union Strays From Its Roots, January 8, 2006 (first article in series)

Today, a Times investigation has found, Chavez's heirs run a web of tax-exempt organizations that exploit his legacy and invoke the harsh lives of farmworkers to raise millions of dollars in public and private money. The money does little to improve the lives of California farmworkers, who still struggle with the most basic health and housing needs and try to get by on seasonal, minimum-wage jobs.

Related photo gallery

Political Unrest in Mongolia

Unrest in Mongolia as coalition govt disintegrates
Mongolians urge government to stay

update (Sun-15-Jan-06): Mongolia quiet as heavy snow hits protests

Bird Flu in Turkey

Turkey bird flu spreads further (BBC):

Turkey has confirmed a new human case of bird flu in central Sivas province, the latest to be affected by the virus which has so far infected 15 people.
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TV broadcasts, a telephone hotline and leaflets are being used in Turkey to improve awareness of the disease and practices to stop it spreading further.
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The scale of the problem has also presented difficulties. On Monday, health teams had yet to reach nearly 100 villages in the area.

Turkish health ministry deputy director Fehmi Aydin says a public awareness campaign is under way across the country.

From NPR

Two recent, interesting & relevant stories:

1. Vietnam's 411 Goes Beyond Phone Numbers A "411" service in Vietnam run by the state-owned telephone company is a highly trusted source of information, including for health-related issues. Rates are US $0.06 a minute. An interesting paradigm of a government-officiated, centralized information service. And of a market-driven service in a communist country. They predict imminent changes with the diffusion of Internet access.

2. Study: Mexican Migrants See Spike in HIV Based on a UC study by the University AIDS Research Program, this story indicates an HIV/AIDS incidence of 0.6% in farmworker communities in Fresno and San Diego counties. This is higher than some previous reports in such communities. The concern is that given the work/living situation and lack of access to educational resources, this could increase rapidly. And with the migration back and forth to Mexico, farmworkers contracting the virus in the U.S., they have already been importing the disease to rural Mexican communities (Mexico has a lower incidence of HIV/AIDS than the U.S.).