Word: important
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...blockade drove most of Gaza's economy, including parts of Draimli's pet business, underground. "Now we bring things like bird cages through the [smuggling] tunnels [on Gaza's border with Egypt]," he says, adding that they are no longer allowed to import the cages from Israel. "The price in Egypt is cheaper than it is in Israel. But the problem is that we have to pay $50 for each container to bring them through the tunnel. So we can't make any money...
George H.W. Bush extends Reagan-era steel-import quotas--limiting them to 20% of the U.S. market--for an additional 2½ years...
...recent U.N. report estimates that 1,387 civilians lost their lives, and much of the Gaza Strip's infrastructure was destroyed, in Israel's January invasion. The government and aid groups have been unable to rebuild because of an Israeli blockade that bars the import of cement and other building materials. The U.N.'s Ging says it was local frustration with the blockade - now in place for more than two years - that led to the spike in Hamas rocket fire, which in turn sparked Israeli bombardment in late December 2008 and invading troops on Jan. 4. Now, he warns...
...Europe: Before the European Union's ban on incandescent lightbulbs went into effect on Sept. 1, consumers across Europe raided stores to stockpile the familiar bulbs. Under the new rules, retailers can continue to sell what they have in stock but won't be able to buy or import more. The policy forces shoppers to switch to environmentally friendly compact fluorescent lamps, which use 80% less electricity. But fans of the traditional lights argue that the new bulbs don't glow as warmly--and that they cost more than twice as much...
China's border with Burma is a porous demarcation, with everything from tropical timber and rubies to heroin slipping across with little oversight. But August brought a more unusual Burmese import: thousands of Kokang hill-tribe members fleeing violence in their small enclave in Burma's northeastern Shan state. By late August, the U.N. estimated that some 30,000 refugees had poured across the border into China's Yunnan province, as the Burmese military routed a small rebel force that had laid down its arms for two decades before a cease-fire crumbled in early August...