Guatemala

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Baby-Stealing Charges Halt Adoptions

(Newser) - Guatemala and Vietnam, two of the most popular countries for international adoptions, recently halted their programs, following reports that some babies are kidnapped and put up for adoption or birth mothers coerced—fueled by the $30,000 an adoption can fetch. Vietnam says it will no longer allow adoptions to...

Guatemala Suspends Adoptions
 Guatemala Suspends Adoptions 

Guatemala Suspends Adoptions

Most babies going to US parents

(Newser) - Guatemala has suspended roughly 2,300 adoptions in an effort to prevent fraud, the BBC reports. The hold-up, for at least a month, will allow authorities to verify—using DNA testing if necessary—that each child is a legitimate candidate. Charges of baby-snatching and other fraud have prompted a crackdown...

Wal-Mart Helps Farmers Grow, American Style

But Central American stores may ruin them first, critics say

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is helping Central American farmers even as the chain threatens to render their mom-and-pop ways outdated, the Los Angeles Times reports. Thousands of small farmers are financially at risk, unable to grow produce that fits the US giant's supply chain—so Wal-Mart, Washington, and a Portland, Ore., relief group...

Child Nutrition Boosts Adult Income: Study

Guatemalan kids given supplement earn 50% more as grown-ups

(Newser) - Eating a nutritious diet as an infant has a significant effect on income later in life, a study published in the Lancet finds. Researchers looked at Guatemalan males over a three-decade period and found that those who had received a nutritious food supplement were earning close to 50% more per...

Foreign Adoptions Down 15%
Foreign Adoptions
Down 15%

Foreign Adoptions Down 15%

US families adopt fewer kids abroad due to strict new policies

(Newser) - US adoptions from abroad have sunk for the third straight year, mostly because China and Russia have tougher policies, AP reports. A drop in adoptions from Haiti and South Korea have also added to the 15% decline since 2004. But a spike in adoptions from Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Vietnam have...

3,700 Adoptions in Limbo
3,700 Adoptions in Limbo

3,700 Adoptions in Limbo

System is so speedy it's wide open to abuse, critics say

(Newser) - Thousands of Americans are caught in heartbreaking limbo as Guatemala debates new rules for its adoption system, the AP reports. US families await 3,700 kids, but Guatemala wants to regulate what many call a crime-ridden $100 million business that includes coercion and kidnapping. The US has asked for current...

Dealers, Killers, and a Nobelist: Guatemala Goes to the Polls

Murders mar run-up to Sunday's election

(Newser) - Der Spiegel travels to Guatemala, where this Sunday's elections present an eye-opening array of candidates, from Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú to a less savory slate of cartel leaders, convicted murders, weapons smugglers, and at least one man accused of genocide. Guatemala's crime rate is sky-high, and now the candidates...

As Felix Fizzles, Another Round of Floods Likely

Nicaragua, Honduras at risk from rain-laden remnants of hurricane

(Newser) - Heavy rain from what's left of Hurricane Felix continues to fall in Honduras and Nicaragua, the BBC reports, and residents are struggling to prepare for "life-threatening" flash floods and mudslides. "Here it rains for two hours and the city floods," said the mayor of Tegucigalpa. "They're...

4 Dead as Felix Slams Nicaragua
4  Dead as Felix Slams Nicaragua

4 Dead as Felix Slams Nicaragua

Poor Nicaraguan Coast unprepared for Category 5 storm

(Newser) - Nicaragua’s Miskito coast felt the wrath of Hurricane Felix yesterday, raising fears of catastrophe for the desperately poor swamp region. The rare Category 5 storm killed four before losing steam and switching to a Category 1 as it made its way toward Guatemala and Mexico, the Guardian reports. Regional...

Dean to Make Last Stand
Dean to Make Last Stand

Dean to Make Last Stand

Storm strong on course to return to Mexico

(Newser) - Hurricane Dean gathered serious strength in preparation for its final landfall in the Mexican city of Tuxpan later today, and its 90mph winds may increase further before touchdown. The storm smashed the Yucatan yesterday, then moved across the Bay of Campeche and its oil rigs, which were evacuated ahead of...

Hotel Snubs Nobel Laureate
Hotel Snubs Nobel Laureate

Hotel Snubs Nobel Laureate

Oooops: Five-star Cancun resort mistakes Rigoberta Menchú for beggar

(Newser) - Staff at Cancun's five-star Coral Beach Hotel had egg on their faces after trying to throw out a woman in indigenous Mayan garb, assuming she was a beggar or street vendor. Turned out the person they tried to hustle out of their lobby was Rigoberta Menchu—Nobel peace prizewinner, Unesco...

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