Cacho was charged with libel and received death threats after publishing a book about a child sex abuse ring involving business figures in Cancun in 2005.
via Lydia Cacho, Roberto Saviano win Olof Palme Prize for exposing criminal networks – The Washington Post.

Due to a local culture that is focused on prevention and preparedness in times like these, Cancun has protection agencies, counseling, and outreach programs to provide support at local, state and federal levels; working together with hotels and tourist services of the private sector to safeguard and inform the locals and visitors on the development of such storms.

Currently, the Cancun International Airport is open and functioning normally; it is important to note that at no time was it deemed necessary to close the airport due to the storm. The airports operations have not been stalled by any weather complications, with 37 flights reported yesterday and 187 programed for today.

via Cancun Completely Back to Normal After “Rina”.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade issued an advisory at 7 a.m., reporting that the storm is becoming less organized and may fizzle into a tropical storm later Thursday.

via Hurricane Rina fizzling, no longer threat to South Florida – Hurricanes – MiamiHerald.com.

Cancun Hurricane Rina Advisory

For guests scheduled to travel to, from and through Cancun Oct. 26-29, 2011:

• Those whose travel has already begun may make one itinerary change. Rules and restrictions regarding standard change fees, advance purchase, day or time applications, blackouts, and minimum or maximum stay requirements have been waived. Origin and destination cities must remain the same. Changes must be made by midnight, Oct. 29, 2011, and travel completed by Nov. 12, 2011.
• Those who have not begun travel may make one change to their travel plans without a change fee or difference in fare if changed by Oct. 29, 2011 and travel occurs by Nov. 12, 2011. All travel rescheduled after Nov. 12, 2011 may be subject to higher fares if it does not meet original rule or booking class.

For more information regarding Frontier’s weather policy or to check the status of a flight, visit the travel advisory page on FrontierAirlines.com.

However, the storm is still expected to be a hurricane when it makes landfall Thursday near the resort town of Cancun, Mexico. Additional weakening is forecast over the next 48 hours, the Hurricane Center said.

Earlier Wednesday, the storm was hovering near major Category 3 hurricane status and was considered a strong Category 2 storm. Forecasters had warned it might reach Category 3 status before making landfall.

via Weakening Rina to hit Mexico as Category 1 storm – CNN.com.

These are among the insights in the latest edition of Society at a Glance, which gives an overview of social trends and policy developments in OECD countries. Using indicators taken from OECD databases and other sources, it shows how societies are changing over time and compared with other countries.

A special chapter in the report looks at unpaid work, such as cooking, cleaning, caring, and shopping, in 26 OECD countries, as well as China, India and South Africa.

Most unpaid work is housework. Mexicans do the most, at more than 3 hours per day, and Koreans the least, at 1 hour and 19 minutes. Much of this time is spent cooking. Americans spend the least time cooking each day (30 minutes) and Turks the most in the OECD (74 minutes). Most people spend around 50 minutes a day cooking.

Shopping also makes up a big part of unpaid work. Most people in OECD countries spend 23 minutes a day shopping, with the French spending the most (32 minutes) and the Koreans the least (13 minutes).

The report also attempts to estimate how much unpaid work is worth as a percentage of GDP for the 25 OECD countries for which data are available. It finds that the value of unpaid work is considerable, equivalent to about one-third of GDP in OECD countries, ranging from a low of 19% in Korea to a high of 53% in Portugal.

Other social indicators documented in the report include fertility rates, education and health spending, inequality, migration, tolerance and trust.

via Who’s busiest: working hours and household chores across OECD.

Jose Juarez Gil, who calls himself “Pepe Tiger,” has been battling allegations from private and government groups that animals suffered under his care from inadequate food, space and veterinary care.

The cats “did not have dignified or respectful treatment, and the conditions they were being held in were unsafe,” the Attorney General’s Office for environmental protection said in a statement.

It did not say what the unsafe conditions were, but in November one of the tigers escaped its cage and mauled a man, who later recovered.

Go to original AP story.

Cancun celebrates 41st birthday with a parade of Mexico's regional costumes Photo by Anita Brown