Word: regions
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...recent Wednesday, 432 people have called in. Nadezhda Kumyiny is one of them. She's phoning from a small village in the Kursk region, southeast of Lyudinovo. She wants to borrow 30,000 rubles - just over $1,000. The woman taking her call fills in the details on a screen. Experienced call-center workers can process a request and grant pre-approval in under six minutes, but Kumyiny can't remember her zip code, which slows everything down. Watching over the process is deputy operations director Viktoriya Selezneva, who says the economic crisis has yet to arrive. "The volume...
Such optimism can be found elsewhere. The Kaluga region to which Lyudinovo belongs continues to draw in foreign investors, including automakers. VW has to date invested about $350 million in an assembly plant, and is producing about 320 cars per day. Peugeot is not far behind. Dietmar Korzekwa, VW's group representative for Russia, says the automaker is continuing with its current growth plans. In part, it's betting that if the Kremlin raises import taxes on autos, as it has suggested it might, it will become more advantageous to manufacture in Russia...
With neither side inclined to give any ground, U.S. officials are concerned that renewed tensions over Kashmir could have consequences across the region. The most pressing fear is that Pakistan, worried about Indian retaliation for Mumbai, will send more troops to shore up its eastern border, taking away vital resources from the fight against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups along its border with Afghanistan. That would enable these groups to step up their operations against U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. It's a prospect that troubles not just the Bush Administration but also its successor. President...
With the militancy fading, human-rights groups and Kashmiri political leaders say the Indian government now has the opportunity to reduce the power of Kashmir as a symbol of Muslim grievance. It would take a grand gesture: draw down the massive military presence in the region. Between them, the Indian army, the paramilitary forces and the state police have nearly 700,000 troops stationed among a population of more than 5 million. It is as if the entire U.S. Army and almost all the U.S. Marine Corps were stationed in Minnesota. "A drawdown would be good, as it would make...
...death toll is edging toward a thousand people, and tens of thousands more have fallen ill. Zimbabwe has declared the events a national emergency. Fortunately, the Zimbabwean government has been open to aid from Western organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO), which has maintained a team in the region for several years, has been allowed to step up its efforts in light of the crisis. We are glad that this immediate aid from the WHO is being delivered to Zimbabweans. However, regardless of what aid is made available, this crisis merely serves as a reminder that Zimbabwe is in need...