■ BRAZIL
Drug kingpin's land sold
Hundreds of people campaigning for landless farmers on Wednesday ended a peaceful protest on a property seized from a Colombian drug kingpin and auctioned off by the state. The Landless Movement said its members had ended its two-day occupation of the ranch in the southern town of Guaiba, but warned "a new occupation in the area has not been ruled out." The protest had been to pressure authorities to turn the land over to the movement instead of selling it off. The property was bought by an unnamed Brazilian for 850,000 reais (US$465,000).
■ UNITED STATES
Doing the math earns cash
A Georgia high school is offering students who are weak in math and science US$8 an hour to go to study hall and review those subjects. "The kids are very enthusiastic," said Mike Robinson, the principal of Creekside High School in Fairburn. Forty students were selected on the basis of their grades and invited to attend two-hour remedial classes twice a week in exchange for money, which is provided by a private foundation. At the end of the 15-week experiment, a student who attended every session would be US$480 dollars richer.
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