North Korea to Become First Country to Shut Borders over Ebola Fear

North Korea will be the first country in the world to shut their borders over fear of the spread of Ebola despite no reported cases of the virus in the reclusive country.

On Friday the Hermit Kingdom will bar entry to foreigners on tourist trips, although it is still unclear if the travel ban would affect members of the diplomatic or business community with ties to Pyongyang.

International travel to North Korea is rare but the country has a track record of sealing its border to foreign visitors over health concerns. In 2003 the country closed its borders because of the threat of SARS, despite not a single case being reported there.

Haiti cholera victims get a hearing in US court

Delama Georges lives one stop from the end of the No. 2 train line in Brooklyn, right next to Holy Cross Cemetery. His proximity to so much death did not bother him until Nov. 9, 2011, when he learned that both his parents contracted cholera during a visit to his sister in Haiti. While Georges’ mother lay in a coma, brought on by dehydration from violent vomiting and diarrhea, his father died, joining more than 8,500 Haitians who died in the epidemic, which began four years ago this month.

Spain Scraps Plan to Tighten Abortion Law

Spain’s government withdrew a bill that would have imposed some of Europe’s strictest curbs on abortion, bowing to popular sentiment and dissent within the ruling conservative Popular Party.

The decision Tuesday by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on one of the most divisive social issues in this largely Roman Catholic country prompted sharp protests from some of his party’s core supporters. His justice minister, the bill’s chief advocate, resigned.

Protecting Chile’s Miners

Everything was looking so good when bUSiness CHILE reported on the state of mining safety in Chile last year: mining accidents had halved and the number of mine inspectors doubled in the first half of 2011. Another year on, however, and improvements seem to have stagnated while a debate over how to better protect mining workers is holding back new legislation.

Bioequivalent Drugs: Worth the risk?

Santiago, Chile – August 2012 – as published in BUSiness Chile. Chile’s pharmaceutical market is worth US$2 billion, but in recent years it has cost patients both their pesos and their trust. The government’s recent decision to certify bioequivalent drugs in Chile aims to increase access for consumers by providing an affordable alternative to branded products. […] Read more

Marijuana Debate Rages in Chile

It’s not just Olympic athletes who live in fear of a drug test ruining their career. Chilean politicians are being threatened with the revival of a bill that would remove politicians from public office if caught using illegal drugs. The legislative hype began last month when Chilean Senator Fulvio Rossi admitted in an interview with Chilean newspaper La Tercera that he smokes marijuana “two or three times a month”—a revelation that shocked his colleagues and delighted a nation of thousands of cannabis users.