Dec 12th, 2008 · Tens of thousands of poor South Asians have made their way to Iraq since the U.S. invasion, in hopes of making money to send home to their families. But the system that gets them to Baghdad is riddled with corruption and exploitation.
Dec 11th, 2008 · The poor economy has hit the legal industry hard. Several large law firms have dissolved in recent months and others are laying off staff. For law school graduates it's a difficult time to get into the field.
Dec 9th, 2008 · The tide of migrant Chinese workers is starting to show a permanent shift toward inland, non-factory jobs as the flagging economy continues to force manufacturing shutdowns. An influx of new, skilled labor combined with dwindling numbers of jobs is forcing laborers to return home.
Dec 7th, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday introduced retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as his choice to run the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Obama's charge to Shinseki: Help veterans facing problems like drug abuse, homelessness and poor health care.
Dec 7th, 2008 · Peru is buying inexpensive computers for poor, rural schoolchildren, connecting them to new skills and information. Skeptics call the laptops a luxury when those kids don't have basics such as health care. They also say newfound skills could lead students to city jobs, spurring the brain drain in isolated villages.
Dec 6th, 2008 · Students in isolated parts of the country may lack running water or electricity, but they now have laptops. Peru is purchasing hundreds of thousands of $200 computers through the One Laptop Per Child program. The hope is to link poor villages to the modern era.
Dec 3rd, 2008 · It was no joke that Andre Tchaikowsky wanted to have his skull play the part of Yorick in Hamlet. When the acclaimed pianist died in 1982, he bequeathed his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company. And there it remained in a tissue-lined box until now. For four months, it's been onstage. Then word got out, and the company decided the real skull was upstaging the actors. "Alas, poor Yorick" will no longer be played by Tchaikowsky's skull.
Nov 27th, 2008 · Half of all poor people seeking help to stave off foreclosures "are being turned away at the door," an official with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association estimates. The programs, which offer free or low-cost counsel, don't have enough staff to meet demand.