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Nations are failing to protect migrants and refugees: Amnesty

Governments across the world are failing to protect the rights of refugees and migrants and are creating a "global underclass," Amnesty International said Thursday as it launched an annual assessment of human rights. Nations are showing more interest in protecting their national borders than the rights of those seeking refuge or opportunities within those borders, it said.

Report finds Gen Xers lost almost half their wealth in recession, questions retirement savings

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A research report by the Pew Charitable Trusts says younger baby boomers and Generation Xers face an uncertain retirement because of reduced savings, high levels of debt, and losses during the Great Recession.

New fitness centers cater to aging baby boomers

By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Baby boomers, the generation that vowed to stay forever young, are getting older, designing senior-friendly gyms and becoming their own personal trainers. In exercise havens for the over-50 set, the cardio machines are typically low impact, the resistance training is mainly air-powered and some group fitness classes are taken sitting down. At Welcyon gyms, founded by husband-and-wife boomers Suzy and Tom Boerboom, the average age of members is 62.

Canada has second-highest rate of first-day infant deaths in industrialized world: report

TORONTO, ONTARIO, - Babies born in Canada have a surprisingly high likelihood of dying on the day of their birth, a new study suggested Tuesday. A report from international aid organization Save the Children assessed infant mortality data from 176 countries worldwide, focusing specifically on how many newborns are able to survive beyond their first day out of the womb. The report said Canada had the second-highest rate of first-day infant mortality in the industrialized world, with roughly 900 babies _ or 2.4 per 1,000 births _ ending in early tragedy.

US immigration debate hits home in Mexican village

Most of the local men have already trekked down the mountain and left the rural hamlet of Los Huesos in central Mexico in search of a better life in United States. So for the elderly, the women and the children who remain in this village of around 60 families, the debate over an immigration reform now taking place many hundreds of miles away north of the border hits close to home.

Insight - Ageing deepens debt-laden Europe's economic woes

By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent RIGA/LISBON (Reuters) - Long after the debt crisis is over, Europe will be grappling with an even more serious problem - how to pay for growing numbers of old people. The population of some countries is stagnant or already shrinking, notably Germany's. That will reduce savings and potential economic growth. The workers who remain are getting older and so are less productive. That will hold back living standards.

Low-birth Greece takes a further hit from crisis

In a nursery of a private maternity hospital in Athens, three mothers feed their newborns while another three babies nap nearby. The room has only a few cots, and yet a number lie empty. Sunk in recession for the past six years and struggling to steer its economy through painful austerity cuts, Greece now faces a fertility crisis as well. "Benefits have been cut, the cost of living has risen, wages are down and there is great uncertainty," says Leonidas Papadopoulos, managing director of the Leto hospital and a veteran obstetrician.

Farm foremen arrested over shooting of migrant workers in Greece

ATHENS (Reuters) - Police on Friday arrested three foremen at a Greek strawberry farm on suspicion that they shot and wounded more than 20 migrant farmers who were protesting over unpaid wages. The incident on Wednesday was the latest attack on foreign workers in crisis-hit Greece and has prompted a public outcry. The three men face charges of attempted murder for opening fire at a crowd of about 200 mostly Bangladeshi immigrants in the southwestern town of Manolada. None of the victims was seriously injured.

World's oldest ever man turns 116 in Japan

Jiroemon Kimura, the oldest man ever recorded, celebrated his 116th birthday Friday with a message from Japan's prime minister as health chiefs launched a study into why his home city boasts so many centenarians. It was a busy day for Kimura, who also greeted guests including the mayor of Kyotango city and officials from the Guinness World Records. "You give us pride and confidence in the people of Japan," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a pre-recorded video greeting that marked the milestone.

World's oldest person turns 116 in Japan

The world's oldest person turned 116 on Friday as local health chiefs in Japan launch a study to find out why he and many of those around him have lived so long. Jiroemon Kimura, who was born in 1897, was expected to celebrate his astonishing milestone with friends and family, and receive a visit from the mayor of his home city of Kyotango in the west of the country. Kimura is one of 95 people who will be 100 years old or more in the city's 60,000-strong population.
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