Tag Archives: Brazil

Journalism: A Dangerous Profession

Journalism is a very dangerous profession. Many journalists are killed every year around the world while covering everything from business and sports to revolutions, wars, political upheavals, corruption, human rights violations and more.

In 2012 alone, 103 journalists were killed around the globe. Motives were confirmed for 70 of them. The deadliest countries for journalists in 2012 were Syria (28 deaths), Somalia (12 deaths), Pakistan (7 deaths), and Brazil (4 deaths). The motives where the confirmed in these cases.

The way journalists are killed, range from crossfire or combat to murder. Impunity is a shocking 100% for murder cases. More detail in the chart below:

For additional information, including the list of the journalists killed in 2012, visit: Committee to Protect Journalists: 70 Journalists Killed in 2012/Motive Confirmed

 

Life Expectancy vs. Fertility Rates Worldwide 1960-2010

click to enlarge

During the last fifty years, we have seen the gradual increase in life expectancy and the corresponding decrease in fertility rates worldwide. This is clearly the case of countries like China, India, the United States, Brazil, Japan, and Gabon, where dramatic improvements can be seen. On the other hand, countries like Russia, South Africa and Afghanistan, show moderate improvement.

It is very interesting to note, that although they have improved, a large cluster of African countries remain far from the overall trend, with lower life expectancy rates and higher fertility rates. For more information, check Google’s interactive bubble chart based on World Bank data.

 

Freedom of the Press Around the World in 2012

2012 has seen positive and negative changes in freedom of the press around the world. Reporters Without Borders, the largest organization that advocates freedom of the press worldwide, compiles a Press Freedom Index where countries ranking at the top score high in press freedom, and countries at the bottom constitute the most repressive in terms of freedom of information and violence against journalists.

Some countries ranking at the top include Finland, Norway and Estonia. Countries at the bottom include Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. Countries showing improvements worth noting include Tunisia, South Sudan and Niger. In Latin America, Brazil showed the biggest decline.

Interesting Links of the Day – June 20, 2012

  1. Let them eat laptops? Michael Trucano (World Bank)
  2. Bringing Access to Safe Water in Ceará, Brazil: PepsiCo Foundation and the Columbia Water Center to Participate in Rio+20 – Silvia Cruz-Vargas (State of the Planet)
  3. Greece and the Limits of Anti-Austerity – Mark Roe (Project Syndicate)

Raw Sugar Prices Increase

Raw sugar prices are on the rise on fears that world demand will exceed global supply. According to Bloomberg, damaged sugar crops due to a drought in Russia and adverse weather conditions in Brazil and China are responsible for a supply shortage. Sugar - Monthly Price - Commodity Prices

Brazil, India, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Australia and the United States are the world’s largest sugar producers. Brazil dominates sugar world markets thanks to high demand for sugar-based ethanol.