Word: breakdown
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...slacken. Trees near transmission lines are supposed to be pruned regularly - but this one hadn't been. When the line sagged too close to the tree, it faulted and tripped off-line. This is also something that happens pretty frequently on the U.S.'s massive electrical grid. But the breakdown of that line in northern Ohio began a cascade of failures that, in a little more than an hour, led to a near total power loss for more than 50 million people in the northeastern U.S. and parts of Canada. Full power wouldn't be restored for everyone...
...preponderance of kidnapping and the general perception that the police cannot be trusted are symptoms of the breakdown of Mexican law enforcement in the face of a highly militarized narco-trafficking industry with billions of dollars to splash on buying loyalty. That, combined with a media culture that has drawn increasing attention to the lifestyles of the country's élite amid a deteriorating economy, has meant that wealth in Mexico today carries with it a heavy burden of anxiety...
...population in a country where more than 42% live under the poverty line." He is careful to make clear that this lifestyle is not in itself a reason for the increase in kidnappings, but he argues that it is another factor of the social discontent that contributes to the breakdown of institutions in Mexico...
...will need all of that knowledge, and more, to fix deep-rooted societal problems such as knife crime - which involves a disproportionate number of black kids, among both victims and perpetrators. Ultimately, the phenomenon is linked to poverty and social breakdown. "Policing is like being on a river bank next to a fast-flowing stream," says Blair. "You have the choice of pulling them out of the water or going upstream to find out who's throwing them in. There's a lot of debate about where is the limit of the police mandate, because we could go very...
...sense of inevitability about the latest collapse in global trade talks. Negotiators, meeting in Geneva, had seemed optimistic a few days earlier, hopeful of a breakthrough in the seven-year-old Doha round. But as so often, hope was no match for the strength of entrenched positions. After the breakdown, there were the usual murmurings that trade ministers might get together again to salvage something from the wreckage. But most observers found it hard to escape the conclusion that, this time, Doha really was dead...