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• OPAQUE INFORMATION SHARING
Critics have pressed Saudi officials to be more transparent about how the virus spreads; others say caution is appropriate to avoid causing hysteria about a mysterious threat.
• BUDGET CUTS RAISE RISKS
Federal spending cuts in the U.S. led to a 5.5% decrease in the National Institutes of Health's budget; furloughs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention due to the government shutdown are fueling concerns that its response to an emergency will be delayed.
After the Storm
INDIA
A woman returns to Arjipalli village, in the Ganjam district of Orissa state, on Oct. 13, a day after Cyclone Phailin struck. The death toll--at least 21 people--was relatively low thanks to massive evacuations as the strongest storm to hit India in a decade, with winds of 125 m.p.h. (200 km/h), approached from the Bay of Bengal. Floods destroyed thousands of thatch-roofed homes, and hundreds of millions of dollars in crops were ruined.
Roundup
Ireland's Road to Recovery
Prime Minister Enda Kenny announced that Ireland could exit its E.U. and IMF bailout on Dec. 15, becoming the first euro-zone country to do so. After four years of austerity, two recessions and $113.5 billion in bailout money, Ireland is still economically fragile but recovering. Here's how the recovery breaks down:
GDP
Annual economic output, currently $55 billion, has been stagnant for years. At the peak of the financial crisis in 2009, the GDP hit a low of $53.4 billion.
Wages
During the recession, the country's wages fell almost 5% from 2008, to $925.69 a week at the beginning of 2010. They rebounded to almost $946 at the end of June 2013.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate peaked at about 15% at the beginning of 2012; it has since fallen to about 13%, slightly above the European average of about 12%.
Industry
The construction sector posted 4.2% growth after being left shattered in 2007; housing prices have also begun to rise, growing 10% in Dublin.
AUSTRIA
19
Minimum number of living male descendants in western Tyrol who scientists say share lineage with Otzi the Iceman, whose 5,300-year-old body was found frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991