Word: regions
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...death squads and Marxist guerrillas. This year, Salvadorans for the first time elected a President, Mauricio Funes, from the party of El Salvador's erstwhile leftist rebels. But life after elections remains as dysfunctional as the ubiquitous tangles of pirated electrical lines that hang above Tegucigalpa's streets. "The region has a greater understanding of the rule of law today," says Mark Rosenberg, president of Florida International University in Miami and an expert on Honduras and Central America. "But it's very incomplete." Even in Costa Rica, President Oscar Arias is elbowing for greater executive powers while weakening his country...
...main reasons bad old habits have lingered is that despite the gains of the past decade or so, the same few families and business groups continue to control the region's economy. The 14 clans that commanded El Salvador's vital coffee industry, for instance, have morphed into eight conglomerates in recent years, but they still have a choke hold on the country's finances. In Honduras, such tycoons as José Rafael Ferrari and Freddy Nasser monopolize sectors like broadcasting and energy - and, say analysts, continue to exert incredible influence on the government. Little will change, says Rosenberg, unless...
...BUCHEON, SOUTH KOREA Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival For 10 days in July, this nondescript Seoul suburb becomes the nerd capital of the Asia-Pacific region. Fantasy films (particularly Asian work) and animé make up the great majority of the program, although in the past special sections have been devoted to things like Italian horror and Fritz Lang. Like your movies with lots of slashing, burning and jousting? Then PiFan is for you. Visit pifan.com...
...liability. The country's vast, mostly agrarian West was isolated from the international economy and lagged badly behind the booming east coast in progress and prosperity. Nine years ago, Beijing sought to begin closing this development gap by investing heavily in highways, airports and other infrastructure across the western region. This has helped to kick-start growth. So has geography: Xi'an's lack of exposure to crashing global markets means it has barely been singed by the crisis. In fact, the city has benefited. It's received $230 million of Beijing's $585 billion stimulus package, which helped accelerate...
...first Asia trip of his presidency after meeting with several key allies during a seven-day, four-nation tour. While critics called Obama overly deferential and said he did little to advance U.S. interests, the White House said the trip established a firm foundation for progress in the region...