News headlines for “Free Trade and Globalization”, page 525
Storm in a Rice Bowl
- Inter Press Service

SEOUL, Apr 24 (IPS) - Rice, a staple of the South Korean diet, is stirring up a bowlful of worry for Seoul. Under a promise to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the government has to make a tough choice on rice imports by June this year.
U.S. Apache Delivery Highlights Mixed Messaging on Egypt
- Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON, Apr 24 (IPS) - Last October, the Barack Obama administration suspended the delivery of attack helicopters to Egypt's interim government following the Jul. 2 military ouster of Egypt's democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Argentina’s Informal Economy Shrinks, But Not Fast Enough
- Inter Press Service

BUENOS AIRES, Apr 23 (IPS) - At the age of 22, Franco finally landed his first job, although he is not on any payroll and receives no labour benefits. He is part of Argentina's informal economy, where one out of three workers are employed – a proportion the government aims to reduce by means of a new law.
Japan Seeks Foreign Workers, Uneasily
- Inter Press Service

TOKYO, Apr 23 (IPS) - Desperate for more workers to support a construction boom, Japan has proposed to expand its controversial foreign trainee programme to permit more unskilled labour from Asia to work in Japanese companies for five years from the current three years.
Culture Increasingly Unaffordable for Cubans
- Inter Press Service

HAVANA, Apr 23 (IPS) - Standing in line for a concert at the Centro Cultural Fábrica de Arte, a cultural centre in the Cuban capital, Alexis Cruz anxiously checks his billfold, where he has the price of the ticket – 50 Cuban pesos (two dollars) - and three CUCs (equivalent to one dollar each) to buy something to drink.
Charting a Course for Survival, or Oblivion?
- Inter Press Service

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Apr 22 (IPS) - Hopefully, on Earth Day today, high-level ministers from all countries are thinking about what they can bring to the table at a key set of meetings on climate change in early May.
Weak Laws and Capitalist Economy Deplete Kenya’s Natural Wealth
- Inter Press Service

NAIROBI, Apr 22 (IPS) - Each season Peter Gichangi, a vegetable and arrowroot commercial farmer who owns four hectares of land in Nyeri County, Kenya's Central Province, cultivates his crops near the Nduyi River.
Cuba’s Burgeoning Private Sector Hungry for Flora and Fauna
- Inter Press Service

HAVANA, Apr 22 (IPS) - The lack of markets to supply raw materials for Cuba's new private sector, along with the poverty in isolated rural communities, is fuelling the poaching of endangered species of flora and fauna.
The Global Trading System Aims to Improve Children’s Lives
- Inter Press Service

GENEVA, Apr 22 (IPS) - Although some people don't see the connection, the global trading system is aimed at creating some of the essential conditions needed to improve children's lives and their prospects in the future.
Obama Seeks to Reassure Anxious Asians on “Rebalance”
- Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON, Apr 22 (IPS) - As he embarks Tuesday on a major trip through East Asia, U.S. President Barack Obama will be focused on reassuring anxious – albeit sometimes annoying – allies that Washington remains determined to deepen its commitment to the region.
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