Reporters on the Job
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Too Scared to Cheat: Five years ago, correspondent Anuj Chopra went through the high-pressure exams that determine who goes on to college in India. He then went on to study at an engineering college. So, he's familiar with what drives students in Asia to cheat
(see story). But even in college, Anuj says, the atmosphere during exams was "Hitleresque," so he says he "never really dared cheat. I was a nerdy good boy on that score. I wouldn't have dreamed of smuggling in a cellphone. If I even turned around during a test to borrow an eraser, I would get rapped and told to keep my eyes facing forward."
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Living in Zimbabwe: Because of AIDS, food shortages, and economic mismanagement, the life expectancy for women in Zimbabwe is now 34 years, the shortest in the world
(see story). Contributor Ryan Truscott says that shrinking span is changing people's expectations and the way they plan for the future.
The economic challenges for the minority of whites still living in Zimbabwe may not be as severe as those faced by the poor black majority. But Ryan says that soaring inflation is one of the most immediate concerns for everyone.
"It's rising so fast, you never know how much things are going to cost. The smallest basket of groceries costs around 2 million Zimbabwe dollars (US$20) this week. Five years ago, that sum could buy you a house - in one of Harare's best suburbs. People now come to our gate for help and we give them what we can - baby clothes, old shoes, sometimes a couple of onions and a few tomatoes," he says.
David Clark Scott
World editor
Cultural snapshot
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BOYS' FIRST HAIRCUT:
Hindus in India perform the Mundan ceremony on the banks of the Ganges River. The hair a child is born with is associated with undesirable traits from past lives. Shaving it off signifies freedom from the past.
RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/AP
More cultural snapshots
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