Word: foreign
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...been that kind of a year for Lula; even in the middle of the worst global economic crisis in 80 years, everything went right for him. His government lowered interest rates to a level not seen in decades, and foreign reserves rose to a record high. Brazil was last into and first out of the recession, and domestic consumption remained high as the gap between rich and poor narrowed at an unprecedented rate. Rio de Janeiro became the first South American city to win the right to host the Olympics. Meanwhile, Lula's opposition flailed aimlessly. His personal popularity regularly...
...while China often complains that criticism by foreign governments amounts to outside interference in its internal affairs, there are signs that the rapidly modernizing country is curbing its use of the death penalty of its own accord. The reforms are modest, to be sure, but some observers see them as a rare bright spot amid an overall bleak trend for human rights in China. (Read "China's Harsh Warning to Political Dissidents...
...British government made dozens of appeals on Shaikh's behalf. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled and disappointed" that requests for clemency were denied and that he was "particularly concerned that no mental-health assessment was undertaken." The U.K. Foreign Office also summoned China's ambassador. China's Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism. At a recent briefing, spokeswoman Jiang Yu called complaints "groundless" and said China expressed "resolute opposition." She added that the U.K.'s response threatened to undermine the countries' bilateral relations...
...bomber, who blew himself up near the back of the crowd. After a loud blast, large plumes of white smoke filled the air. Some of the marchers fell to the ground, while others fled in a panic. "It was an inhuman act of terrorism," Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan's Foreign Minister, told TIME. Suspicion immediately fell on the Pakistani Taliban. (See Karachi's defiant fashion week...
...thrives off the ruins of Yemen's economy, which is in tatters; its population complains of neglect and development woes; and 50% of Yemeni children suffer from malnutrition. Observers warn that poverty and unemployment are prime recruitment factors for al-Qaeda, something they say the U.S. and other foreign powers should have done more to address. Yemen also struggles with a severe water shortage, in large part because of the national addiction to khat, a shrub whose young leaves contain a compound with effects similar to those of amphetamines. The top estimate is that no fewer than...