There was a knock at the door. A soldier entered the room and raised his arm in salute. Then he drove his boot heels together to produce a loud snap. He waited for the politician’s attention…

A new community in South America is born with a variety of diverse and complex objectives spanning cultural, social and economic realms… another aim is the social inclusion, the civic participation, the strengthening of democracy for all.

I asked my taxi driver if he knew where I could buy an AK-47. The driver studied me for a second. He paused. And then he said, “I know somewhere… Vamanos.”

Yesterday I visited the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant. The name of this plant is Itaipu. It sits on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, on one of the largest rivers in Latin America, the Rio Parana.