Word: lands
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...often a blessing, has come to be a curse for Solomon Islanders living near Gizo, in the country's distant Western Province. The April 2 earthquake, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, and the ensuing wall of water that swept away anything in its path as it reached land, have left a quarter of the area's population without a home. Unlike in Asia's 2004 tsunami, the water has not receded, adding to the locals' distress...
...severe shortages of food, chronically ill and unschooled children and dire family poverty. This lack of administrative oversight and political will brings resentment, to be sure. But it also allows charlatans to flourish. When natural resources such as fish and trees aren't being plundered, then assets like public land and houses are being stolen by crooked politicians and officials. Normality, for these unlucky folk, is a short hop from despair...
...many headed for the big door marked Sortie? France's gummed-up labor market is a key reason. Youth unemployment of 22% is easily one of the highest in Europe, both east and west, and it's not just school leavers with few or no qualifications who can't land a job. More than 7% of French university graduates in their late 20s are unemployed - one of the worst records in the European Union and about 50% higher than the E.U. average. Moreover, many of the jobs that are available to young people, even highly skilled ones, tend...
...drizzly afternoon, Constable Neill Simpson makes his rounds in an armored Land Rover through North Belfast, one of the few districts where it's still too dangerous for routine foot patrols. His first visit is to Jim Potts, a unionist community official. A tall green "peace fence" winds between the streets, separating unionist Glenbryn from nationalist Ardoyne. Potts tells Simpson about a small riot over the weekend involving 40 or 50 people from each side of the fence. In times past, such altercations might have had deadly consequences. Potts himself was charged with fighting during a high-profile 2001 protest...
Despite the best cross-community relations in decades and increasing political cooperation, it's still hard to get officers to talk about their place in this long-divided land. When off duty, says Fitzpatrick, "I don't tell people I work for the police. I tell them I'm in court services." Simpson, like many other officers, declines to say whether he's Catholic or Protestant. But in Belfast, even one's soccer team can reveal identity: most Glasgow Ranger fans are unionist, most Celtic fans nationalist. Simpson avoids this and just says he's a fan of neutral Liverpool...