Q&A: Impact of Crisis in Latin America Less Severe than in the Past
By Darío Montero interviews MARTÍN HOPENHAYN, ECLAC's social development director
GUATEMALA CITY - Thanks to effective social policies and measures that have strengthened the economy, most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have managed to weather the impact of the global recession, although poverty has risen slightly for the first time since 2002.
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DEVELOPMENT: Climate Change Likely to Increase African Hunger Woes
By Julio Godoy
BERLIN - Africa, the continent already most affected by hunger and food scarcity, is likely to see its woes increased due to climate change and the changing rain patterns it provokes, experts and scientists say.
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DEVELOPMENT: UNFPA Puts Human Face on Climate Blowback
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - A new U.N. report on the hazards of climate change brings a fresh human perspective to an ongoing wide-ranging debate that has focused primarily on energy efficiency and industrial carbon emissions.
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CUBA: Fewer Storks Visiting Shiny Maternity Clinics
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA - Women in Cuba cite a variety of reasons to explain their decision to have only one child, ranging from the housing shortage to the rising cost of living and the many work responsibilities they have to shoulder. But many say that if things were different they would have a bigger family.
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MIDEAST: Gazans Brace for Cold, Bleak and Miserable Winter
By Mel Frykberg
EZBT ABBED RABBO - Tens of thousands of Gazans living in tents and damaged homes face a wet, cold and miserable winter as Israel’s blockade of the coastal territory continues to prevent the importation of building and reconstruction material.
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ARGENTINA: Child Benefits Expanded to Unemployed and Informal Workers
By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES - A new monthly family allowance of nearly 50 dollars per child that will be paid out as of December to parents who are unemployed or work in the informal economy in Argentina was heralded by experts as an extraordinary step forward in terms of social policy.
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AGRICULTURE-SENEGAL: Groundnut Production in Freefall
By Koffigan E. Adigbli
KAOLACK, Senegal - Farmers are complaining about a lack of technical assistance and the poor quality of seeds they've planted this year in the Kaolack region, Senegal's groundnut-producing area, 200 kilometres south of the capital Dakar.
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CHILE: Teen Pregnancy, a Problem That Won’t Go Away
By Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO - Chile currently stands out for its spectacular progress in a number of health indicators, including maternal and child mortality and chronic malnutrition. But these successes obscure an acute social problem that refuses to yield: the steady rise in the number of teenage mothers.
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MIDEAST: Israel Divided Over 'Illegal' Children
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
TEL AVIV - "Migrant workers bring with them a profusion of diseases - hepatitis, measles, tuberculosis, AIDS and drug addiction: Our critics can be as sanctimonious as they like, but unless we stop the wave of migrant workers, the whole character of the State of Israel, its Jewish character, will be under threat."
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PHILIPPINES: Children Worst Hit by Economic Crisis
By Stella A. Estremera*
DAVAO CITY, Philippines - "I get an allowance of 50 pesos (about one U.S. dollar) a day, of which 20 pesos (40 U.S. cents) is for fare," says 17-year-old Dana Jane Estrada.
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