Throughout the region a boom-bust cycle in asset prices preceded the currency crisis.

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Almost one school-age child in four (23%) has never been to school, or dropped out of school before finishing the primary cycle in this region, where the absolute number of children denied access to school has climbed from 29 million in 2008 to 31 million in 2010.

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"What we're learning is how storms evolve in this part of the region... their dynamics, their life-cycle, their internal characteristics that are unique to this region, that have never really been observed before by radar, " he said.

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For the past two years, the tech sector in the San Francisco region has been in another boom cycle, and companies are again celebrating the holidays in style--renting out baseball stadiums, convention centers and art museums to host their bashes.

FORBES

The rising tree population could disrupt the natural processes that cycle snow and energy through the region and increase the amount of carbon it stores, according to the researchers.

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That has helped to break the cycle of political violence which dogged the region, produced a healthy alternation of power, and directed attention to deep-rooted social problems.

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Oceans are considered to be one of the planet major players in the global carbon cycle, but the carbon uptake in the region where the eruption occurred has limited capacity.

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"It will vary according to the mineral group and project life cycle but we are likely to see investors looking elsewhere in the region ... particularly if the South African government doesn't come out quite strongly and say what its plans for the sector are going forward, " says Simiso Velempini, South Africa analyst for global business risk consultancy Control Risks.

CNN: New violence clouds future for South African mines