Costa Rica elects first female president
On Sunday, February 7, Costa Rica elected Laura Chinchilla as the country's first female president. Chinchilla, of the ruling National Liberation Party, will succeed the incumbent president, Oscar Arias. Costa Rican bloggers react to the election result.
Toyota seeks to make amends for engineering defects
The world's largest automaker is attempting to fix its cars and its reputation. The company announced its latest recall -- more than 400,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide -- bringing the total recalls to 8.5 million. The announcement was accompanied by a new apology by Toyota's chairman. Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Roben Farzad for more.
Smoking rates remain stubbornly high around the globe
According to the World Health Organization, while cigarette consumption is declining in some countries, the number of smokers worldwide is on the upswing. Those smokers also consume more cigarettes than ever. Explore our maps of smoking rates around the globe.
Toyota tries to save face after string of bad news
Toyota admits that some Prius models -- considered by many to be the pride of the company's fleet -- may have faulty brakes. The announcement comes one week after it suspended the production and sale of 8 other models because of a sticky gas pedal problem. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation is widening its investigation. Divya Gopalan of Al Jazeera English has more.
Global auto industry slowly adapts to alternative energy
The automobile industry, hard hit by the recession, is facing a fundamental shift in direction. Daljit Dhaliwal speaks with Vijay Vaitheeswaran, a correspondent for The Economist and the co-author of "Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future," about what he calls the coming "end of the age of oil."
Haiti’s children vulnerable to human traffickers
The news of suspected child smugglers operating in Haiti has highlighted longstanding concerns about the trafficking of children from poor countries. Patrick McCormick of the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, talked to Worldfocus about vulnerable children around the world.
Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its nominations for the 2010 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Nominees include films from Germany, Peru, Argentina, France, and Israel. See the trailers here.
American missionaries still in custody of Haitian authorities
Ten Americans remain in custody in Haiti, accused of illegally trafficking children after they tried to cross into the Dominican Republic on a bus. Haitian authorities are debating what to do with the group of missionaries that allegedly intended to smuggle the children -- after reportedly being told they were all orphans.
A love affair between tourists and penguins in Patagonia
GlobalPost's Julia Kumari Drapkin traveled to the remote region of Patagonia, on the southern tip of Argentina, to visit with biologists studying the penguin population. The scientists are examining the impact of the 150,000 tourists who visit the penguins. So far, the effects appear to be largely benign.
Born in Africa, crisis-mapping site comes of age in Haiti
Ushahidi, which is Swahili for “testimony,” is an innovative computer platform that crowd-sources crisis information. Worldfocus spoke with Ushahidi about their efforts in Haiti to map out reports from the ground and help disaster relief organizations to provide aid to those in need.
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