Ricky Martin joins IOM to fight human trafficking

Ricky Martin joins IOM to fight human trafficking
GENEVA -- Ricky Martin is joining with a U.N.-affiliated migration organization to fight human trafficking in Colombia.
Martin will appear in TV commercials and provide support through his nonprofit foundation, the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said Tuesday.
"More than half of trafficking victims worldwide are children, forced into pornography, prostitution and labor servitude," the 33-year-old singer said in a statement. "Human trafficking is an unscrupulous market that generates around $10 billion annually."
The commercials, to begin airing next year, will focus on the dangers, such as sexual exploitation, trafficking poses to Colombian children.
They will also publicize a new telephone hot line that provides assistance and information about trafficking in the country, the Geneva-based IOM said.
Folk trio to perform as Mary fights cancer
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary, who has been battling leukemia, will perform in a holiday concert Dec. 9 in Manhattan's Carnegie Hall.
It will be the first performance by the popular folk trio, which also includes Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey, since Travers was diagnosed a year ago.
She has been making a steady recovery since a bone marrow transplant was performed in April. Doctors have told her that tests so far show no signs of the disease.
"I think they're very happy with my progress," Travers, 69, told The Associated Press on Monday. "They're all thrilled, and they're all coming to the concerts."
Travers had been waiting for a donor match after chemotherapy failed to stop the disease. She had lost about 60 pounds and much of her trademark long blond hair.
"I will not be shaking my hair out of my face," she said. "But I kind of like it short."
Travers said she doesn't know her donor yet but hopes to meet the person someday. "My donor has a lifetime of free concerts to Peter, Paul and Mary," she said.
Today's Birthdays
Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. is 88. Actor Robert Guillaume is 78. TV personality and producer Dick Clark is 76. Radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy is 75. Actor Mandy Patinkin is 53. Singer Billy Idol is 50. Football and baseball player Bo Jackson is 43. Actor-director Ben Stiller is 40. Singer Clay Aiken is 27.