developing world

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India Squashes Novartis Cancer Drug Patent

High court move likely to keep drugs cheap in developing world

(Newser) - A major Supreme Court decision in India could be good news for patients in developing countries, activists say. The court ruled that Novartis couldn't have a new patent for a tuneup to an existing cancer drug, since it's not a new medicine, the AP reports. "Patents will...

China Sinking Big Bucks Into African News

Critics say propaganda, but Chinese call it good PR

(Newser) - China has long been investing big money into Africa, in construction, natural resources, housing, and other projects. Increasingly, though, China is also pouring money into news and media on the continent, bringing two Chinese television news channels, radio, and written articles by Xinhua, China's state-sponsored news service, to places...

To Help Third World, Send Cash, Not Stuff

Developing world doesn't need our cast-offs: Charles Kenny

(Newser) - The common practice of sending hand-me-downs or excess merchandise to developing countries seems like a good idea—after all, if the NFL can’t sell all those “Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowl XLV Champions” shirts, what’s wrong with sending them to Zambia? The problem is, Zambians don’t need...

Illegal Immigrants Aren't Really Criminals
Illegal Immigrants Aren't
Really Criminals
Francis Fukuyama
Jul 26, 2010 9:49 AM CDT

Illegal Immigrants Aren't Really Criminals

They're hard-working poor people who didn't enjoy legal protection at home, either

(Newser) - Illegal Immigration hawks like to paint immigrants as hardened criminals, conflating them with the drug traffickers hopping over the border to sell their wares to a hungry American populace. But in truth the vast majority of illegal immigrants are hardworking people who “come from societies in which legal rules...

Developing Nations Were In on 'Danish Text'
 Developing Nations 
 Were In on 'Danish Text' 
CLIMATE summit
Dec 10, 2009 10:17 AM CST

Developing Nations Were In on 'Danish Text'

China, India helped draft leaked agreement they railed against

(Newser) - The “Danish text”—the leaked climate change agreement that infuriated developing nations in Copenhagen and sparked accusations of bullying by rich countries—was actually drafted by a group that included China, India, and Brazil, among other countries. They had “input into the process and product” of the...

Global Rates of Alzheimer's Disease Soar

Aging populations drive increase; developing world will be hit hard

(Newser) - Rising life expectancy in the developing world will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people stricken by Alzheimer’s disease, HealthDay News reports. The number of dementia cases worldwide will reach 35.6 million in 2010, a 10% increase over the total in 2005. That number is...

WHO Sounds Alarm on Homeopathy

(Newser) - The World Health Organization has issued a warning against homeopathic treatments for TB and other life-threatening illnesses, reports the BBC. The organization issued the alert after pressure from a group of young researchers who complained that homeopathy was being promoted in poor countries as a treatment for TB, infant diarrhea,...

Climate 'Urgency' Takes a Backseat to Progress: Will

(Newser) - At their recent summit, the G8 nations vowed to cut emissions 80% ... within 41 years. That seems like a pretty lethargic response to a so-called “emergency,” but as Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi said, the effort is virtually futile while “5 billion people continue to behave as they...

Gadget Turns Phone Into Microscope

CellScope could help curb outbreaks of disease in developing world

(Newser) - A new gadget could mean big improvements for health care in the developing world. Called the CellScope, the device attaches to any cell phone with a camera, turning it into a microscope, Science Blogs reports. Invented by researchers at UC Berkeley, the CellScope also features an LED that can detect...

Bombed-Out US Economy Blasts Globe Into Recession

Developing nations hit especially hard in first world recession since World War II

(Newser) - The world economy is plunging into its first global recession since World War II, and sending 46 million people in developing countries back into poverty, warns a World Bank report. The global lender is urging leading nations to pledge a portion of their stimulus packages to stem the mounting crisis...

Developing World Needs More Sweatshops: Kristof
Developing World Needs
More Sweatshops: Kristof
OPINION
Jan 15, 2009 12:41 PM CST

Developing World Needs More Sweatshops: Kristof

Yes, they're ugly by US standards, but many nations' poor toil in much uglier conditions

(Newser) - Before Barack Obama follows through on tough talk about global “labor standards,” Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wants to take him to a certain garbage heap in Cambodia. Here, where families live in shacks, scavenging in the hot sun, a sweatshop job is “a cherished...

Eggbeater Helps Scientists Whip Disease

Harvard researchers fashion a household item into a diagnostic device

(Newser) - Centrifuges separate blood from plasma—but at considerable expense, in a bulky package. That leaves them beyond the reach of underfunded medical facilities that could use the help in diagnosing blood-borne ailments, such as hepatitis and other diseases. The solution, Discover reports, could be as close as the nearest kitchen....

The Battle for India's Largest Slum

Developers see 'brand-new beautiful suburb' near Mumbai; residents beg to differ

(Newser) - With the Indian economy booming, developers have their sights on Dharavi, the vast Mumbai slum that sits at the intersection of two popular commuter train lines and conveniently close to the Mumbai airport. Visions of shanty houses and refuse-filled streets replaced by glass high-rise apartments and office parks—"a...

The Win-Win Economics of Medical Tourism
The Win-Win Economics of Medical Tourism
OPINION
Aug 15, 2008 2:28 PM CDT

The Win-Win Economics of Medical Tourism

Growing trend of traveling for health care doesn't have to hurt anyone

(Newser) - The spread of “medical tourism”—uninsured and underinsured patients seeking cheap health care in Southeast Asia or Latin America—has fueled fears that developing nations will divert resources from state health systems caring for their own citizens. But, the Economist argues, “if governments make the best of...

Who Cares Who We Talk to?
Who Cares Who We Talk to?
OPINION
May 21, 2008 1:42 PM CDT

Who Cares Who We Talk to?

The only way to revive US influence is to stop empowering our foes with oil dollars

(Newser) - Though politicians and pundits alike are caught up in which foes the US should or shouldn't be reaching out to, Thomas Friedman, in the New York Times, points out that few world leaders of any stripe are sitting by the phone waiting for our call. Waning American influence and the...

Therapy by Any Other Name
Therapy by Any Other Name
Mar 12, 2008 6:56 PM CDT

Therapy by Any Other Name

Low-cost program aims to reduce stigma, treat depression in developing world

(Newser) - A program that treats depression in Indian villages is seeking to transform mental health care throughout the developing world, the New York Times reports. Bypassing expensive doctors, the clinics train laypeople to avoid talk of mental illness—a shameful stigma in many cultures—by screening for "strain" and "...

Consumers Beware
Consumers Beware
OPINION
Jan 2, 2008 3:53 PM CST

Consumers Beware

Don't worry about overpopulation, prof writes—worry about consumption rates

(Newser) - Don’t worry how many people there are in the world—worry how much each is consuming, noted author and professor Jared Diamond argues in today’s New York Times. People in the developed world consume 32 times more than counterparts in the developing world; if the 5.5 billion...

Ethiopia Stirs Up Coffee Industry
Ethiopia Stirs Up Coffee Industry
Nov 10, 2007 3:33 PM CST

Ethiopia Stirs Up Coffee Industry

Fair trade to get a lot more fair if trademark approved

(Newser) - Ethiopia is trademarking its distinctive coffee crop, a move that could bring $88 million a year to the impoverished country, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Coffee connoisseurs happily pay up to $10 per pound for beans from Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region, but less than $1 of that goes to farmers...

eBay Launches Microfinance Loan Site

Users can lend money to the world's poor... and earn interest

(Newser) - EBay's newly launched MicroPlace lets users make loans through PayPal or a bank account to needy entrepreneurs worldwide. The idea? Even small sums can help poor people build businesses to raise themselves out of poverty. The site's founder remembers one Bangladeshi woman who bought a handloom, thus earning enough to...

Tech Wraps Growing Web Around World

Some worry about cultural loss as cell phones, e-mail spread

(Newser) - Global cellphone and computer usage is up dramatically as inequalities in technology drop. Cellphone ownership has grown 20% in the US, where 80% of the population uses computers, third in the world behind Sweden and South Korea. Computer usage is up in 26 of 35 countries in a new Pew...

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