Despite U.S. Efforts, Tension Mounts in Pakistan

Despite a flurry of efforts to broker a truce, Pakistan’s government and leading opposition politicians continue to stagger toward a head-on collision. As Washington and its allies watch with mounting anxiety, the government has broadened its crackdown, requisitioning troops and silencing a leading TV news channel

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G-20 ministers discuss deepening crisis

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 industrialized and developing economies are meeting near London on Saturday to discuss a common approach on how to tackle the global economic crisis. The London G-20 summit on April 2 was initially going to focus on financial markets and regulation, but the deepening crisis around the world has highlighted the need for a broader economic package. This plan includes everything from stimulus packages to uneven interest rates, said Mark Malloch-Brown, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s envoy to the summit.

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Europe’s Message on Economic Stimulus: Enough Already!

As the economic tsunami continues to rage across the planet, the near universal refrain has been that joint action is needed to pull us out of the crisis. But when it comes to stimulus spending, the United States and Europe have taken different paths, jeopardizing hopes of a united front to combat the downturn. President Barack Obama this week urged the world’s top economies to adopt aggressive, American-sized spending programs.

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Angola rabies outbreak kills 83 children

A severe rabies epidemics has claimed the lives of at least 83 children within three months in Angola’s capital, Luanda, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Describing the situation as “very worrying,” WHO rabies expert Francois Meslin told CNN: “This is a huge number and could be the tip of the iceberg.” A doctor working at the country’s biggest referral hospital Hospital Pediatrico David Bernardino said staff were unable to save any of the children as rabies vaccines had run out. Some of the children were also brought into the hospital too late to be saved, Luis Bernardino, head of the hospital told UN humanitarian organization IRIN.

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Postcard from Sao Paolo: Business

The world economy may be going to hell in a handbasket, but you wouldn’t know it in Maria Irece da Silva’s tiny cosmetics store in the impoverished favela of Jardim Carumbé. “The rich talk about the crisis but the poor don’t mention it,” says Da Silva, whose business — helping women look good in a country where style always trumps substance — is booming. Not even the worst recession in memory has stemmed the flow of shampoos, lipsticks and nail varnish from the shelves of her tiny beauty-aids store.

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Report Says 1 in 50 U.S. Kids Are Homeless

Even before the financial and home foreclosure crisis hit full stride, the number of homeless children in America had reached an alarming level. The National Center on Family Homelessness released a report today that estimates that one in every 50 American children was homeless between 2005 and 2006. That totals roughly 1.5 million kids.

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Parents of captured Israeli soldier camp outside Olmert’s home

The parents of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit set up camp Sunday outside the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in hopes of pressuring government officials to a secure a deal with Hamas that would bring their son home. Noam and Aviva Shalit took up residence in a tent across from the outgoing Prime Minister’s office, vowing to stay there until Olmert completes his term. “We demand that this government will conclude the crisis and will bring back Gilad before it finishes the term,” Noam Shalit told CNN.

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