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Counting for the Chinese Census
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In November the world's biggest population census begins. Over 5 million officials will begin to count the population of China, the most populated country in the world. At the moment the official population figure is about 1.3 billion (a thousand million) people, but many people think that the real figure is much higher.
Getting an accurate total is very difficult in such a huge country. There is also the problem because some families are reluctant to say how many children they have. In China parents are fined if they have more than one child in urban areas (towns and cities) or more than two children if they live in rural (countryside) areas.
In October 1999 the world's population reached 6 billion, just a few months after the population of India reached 1 billion. People who study population growth estimate that India will overtake China as the country with the most people sometime in the next 12 years or so. Half of the world's population is under 25 years of age.
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Mexican Earthquake
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On August 9th an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale was felt in the south of Mexico. It was began under the Pacific Ocean, west of the state of Michoacan, but people felt it across central and south west Mexico, including in the capital, Mexico City. There were no deaths or injuries but power supplies were affected in some places and buildings shook.
Earthquakes are fairly common in Mexico. In 1985 over 10,000 people were killed when a massive earthquake hit Mexico City.
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Hot Stuff !!
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Mexico, featured in the 'Eye on ...' section of GEN, has lost its position as the producer of the worlds hottest chilli. Indian experts claim that the Naga Jolokia chilli, grown in the hills of Assam in the north east of the country, is much hotter than the Red Savina Habanero chilli grown in Mexico. Both chillies have been tested using Scoville units, the internationally agreed method of measuring food spiciness. The Mexican chilli is measured at 577 units, whilst the Indian one reaches 855 units. Chillies are commonly used for cooking in both countries and exported across the world.
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