Word: widespreading
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Several Russian officials, confronted by aid officials with evidence of widespread looting in the occupied Georgian city of Gori, said the area is not their responsibility because it is legally Georgian territory. But human rights monitors reject that argument. "This area [now occupied by Russian troops] is effectively under Russian control. The Georgian military is not there, so Russia has a responsibility to protect civilians there," says Giorgi Gogia, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Georgia. In Tskhinvali, however, locals say the Russian presence has helped re-establish security. "When the Russian army came," says Misha Masurashvili, a gangly...
...power of the X chromosome doesn't extend to other parts of Chinese society. With the relaxation of a government quota system, the number of women in the top ranks of civil service has plummeted. A traditional preference for boys over girls has led to widespread sex-based abortions, leaving China with one of the world's most lopsided gender ratios. In 2005, 118 Chinese boys were born for every 100 girls. That means fewer brides for a surplus of Chinese men in the coming decades - not to mention a deficit of future female Olympians...
Behind the lines, meanwhile, in territory still nominally under Russian control, reports are emerging of widespread looting and some killings by Ossetian civilians, much of it directed at Georgians. Georgian soldiers and some refugees also allege that civilians from Russia, including Cossacks and Chechens, are flooding into areas that remain under Russian military control to take advantage of the lawlessness...
...What's the value of an electronic tongue? Wine buyers, stung by recent reports of widespread fraud, will appreciate having an objective tongue on hand to weed out bogus bottles. "You could use it to verify that a wine was made from the proper grapes," says Mary O'Connor, wine director of Planeta Vino, a Madrid wine school. "For example, there are only five authorized grapes for a Rioja, but lots of winemakers sneak in cabernet anyway. This could help enforce the standards." The device, which is small, portable and relatively inexpensive, could also come in handy during...
...commonest back problems physicians treat, called spinal stenosis, gives leg symptoms: pain, tingling, numbness and weakness down the legs, knees and thighs - and often without back pain. Few orthopedists can get through their week without seeing a patient with spinal stenosis - the problem is just so widespread. Worse, it doesn't really get better. With all the pills, therapies, shots, braces and exercises we prescribe, it's a rare case of spinal stenosis that we can make go away...