* 12.3 million adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world; 56 percent of these victims are women and girls
* $32 billion annual trade for the traffickers
* 49,105 victims identified worldwide, a 59 percent increase over the last reporting year (2008)
* Prevalence of trafficking victims in the world: 1.8 per 1,000 inhabitants (in Asia and the Pacific: 3 per 1,000)
* 4,166 successful trafficking prosecutions in 2009, a 40 percent increase over 2008
* Countries that have yet to convict a trafficker under laws in compliance with the Palermo Protocol: 62
* Countries without laws, policies, or regulations to prevent victims’ deportation: 104
* 23 countries received upgraded rankings in the 2010 TIP Report; 19 countries received downgraded rankings
* Two countries, the United States and Kiribati, are ranked for the first time in the 2010 TIP Report. source.

Slumdog Millionaire

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# Rating: R
# Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
# DVD Release Date: March 31, 2009
# Run Time: 120 minutes

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. Each chapter of Jamal’s increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show’s seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love. source.

Good movie. Original story. A feel good movie. Why was it rated R? Which slums are worst, Baghdad or Mumbai?

Taken

# Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
# Run Time: 93 minutes

The seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father, the retired agent Bryan Mills that left the secret service to stay near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart; she convinces the reluctant Bryan to sign an authorization to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When they arrive, they share a cab with the stranger Peter and Amanda tells to him that they are alone in Paris. When Bryan succeeds in contacting his daughter, she tells that criminals have just break in the spot and they are kidnapped by an Albanese gang of human trafficking. Bryan promises in the phone to kill the kidnapper of his daughter and immediately travels to Paris to find Kim and chase the criminals. source.

Very good action thriller. A must buy. Too bad the story is real.

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