slums

18 Stories

Some Displeasure After Wall Is Built Before Trump Visit

Residents of the India slum behind the wall aren't happy about it

(Newser) - A 1,640-foot brick wall has been hastily erected in India's Gujarat state ahead of a visit by President Trump, with critics saying it was built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people. Trump is visiting the city of Ahmedabad in...

British Tourist Shot in Brazilian Shanty Town

Eloise Dixon was looking for bottled water with her family in 'favela' known for crime

(Newser) - A British woman traveling in Brazil took a terrible wrong turn Sunday and ended up getting shot in front of her family. Eloise Dixon, who's reportedly from Kent, was on holiday with her husband and three children in the popular tourist beach town of Angra dos Reis, about 90...

Woman Killed After GPS Takes Her to Wrong Street

Regina Murmura, 70, was shot in Brazil slum and died in hospital

(Newser) - GPS directions might at times drive you insane, but one woman was actually driven to her death in Brazil. Travel agent Regina Murmura, 70, and her husband Francisco, 69, were aiming for a Niteroi beach on Avenue Quintino Bocaiuva on Saturday when their Waze GPS app directed them to Quintino...

Rio's Gang-Riddled Slums Swept by 1K Cops, Marines

Latest crackdown on crime ahead of World Cup

(Newser) - More than 1,400 police officers and Brazilian Marines rolled into a massive complex of slums near Rio de Janeiro's international airport before dawn today in the latest security push ahead of this year's World Cup. Not a shot was fired as the Mare complex of 15 slums...

South Africa Hotel Offers Fake Slum Experience

This 'Shanty Town' has under-floor heating

(Newser) - Well, this is ... interesting: You can now pay half the average South African's monthly salary—or $82 a night—to stay in a slum. Not a real one, as some one billion people worldwide do; instead, Gizmodo reports, South Africa's Emoya Luxury Hotel and Spa is offering the...

Busy Pope Running Staff Ragged

Francis hits beach, then visits Rio slum on foot

(Newser) - Pope Francis may be 76, but that's not slowing him down: He's maintaining a schedule so busy —and getting busier—that aides are struggling to keep up, the AP reports. Yesterday, for instance, he had a full day planned in Brazil, then added two extra events, including...

Wall Built to Hide Slum From Anti-Poverty Conference

Move 'just a little fixing up,' Philippine government says

(Newser) - Delegates attending an international anti-poverty conference in Manila this week were shielded from unsightly poverty by a wall hastily erected by the Philippine government, reports the AP . The makeshift wall put up before the Asian Development Bank conference hid the view of a sprawling slum along a creek from visitors...

Brazil Raids Rio's Largest Slum
 Brazil Raids Rio's Largest Slum 

Brazil Raids Rio's Largest Slum

Rocinha slum called vital for World Cup, Olympic security

(Newser) - Upwards of 2,000 members of the Brazilian police and military, backed by armored vehicles and helicopters, swept through Rio's biggest slum before dawn today, in the biggest anti-gang action since last November , reports the AP . But unlike the previous raid, which was precipitated by a rash of gang...

'Slumdog Millionaire' Star Rubina Ali Homeless After Fire in Mumbai Slum
 Slumdog Star Loses All in Fire 

Slumdog Star Loses All in Fire

Rubina Ali homeless again after blaze in Mumbai slum

(Newser) - Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali is out on the street after a blaze ripped through her Mumbai slum today. "It's all gone. Even my best clothes, everything," Rubina tearfully told the AP via phone; the 12-year-old also lost her awards, clippings, and photos from the Oscar-winning flick....

Director Buys Apartment for Slumdog Kid

(Newser) - The makers of Slumdog Millionaire have bought a home for one of the film’s Indian child actors whose real-life shanty was demolished by the Mumbai government, Reuters reports. Azharuddin Ismail is now living in a “comfortable” apartment “in a good neighborhood near his school,” an exec...

Second Slumdog Kid's Home Torn Down

Ali's father beaten by police in demolition

(Newser) - The shanty home of another Slumdog Millionaire child star was torn down by Mumbai authorities today as they demolished part of a city slum where she lived. The stepmother of 9-year-old Rubina Ali, who portrayed a young Latika, the Oscar-winning film's heroine, said her husband was beaten by police who...

Slumdog Star's 'Illegal' Home Demolished

Family had lived there 15 years

(Newser) - Mumbai officials tore down the home of Slumdog Millionaire child star Azharuddin Ismail, calling the slum dwelling illegal construction. Ismail’s mother says the family lived there 15 years before police arrived unannounced. “We didn’t even get a chance to remove our belongings,” she tells the Telegraph....

Megacities Stagger India
 Megacities Stagger India 

Megacities Stagger India

Out-of-control urbanization threatens to drag down Indian economy for years

(Newser) - The explosive growth of India's cities is threatening to drag down the country's economy for decades to come, economists tell the Wall Street Journal. The global trend toward urbanization has gone into overdrive in India, but most cities aren't prepared to deal with the influx of migrants from the countryside,...

Dad Wants to Sell Slumdog Child Star

Rubina Ali's dad asks for $300k to adopt 9-year-old

(Newser) - The family of Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali really is stuck in the slums of Mumbai, and her father may be trying to trade her in for his ticket out, the News of the World reports. The tab contacted Rafiq Qureshi, posing as a rich Dubai couple interested in...

Slumdog Makers Give $740K to Educate Poor

Fun intended to hush critics who call film 'poverty porn'

(Newser) - To combat accusations that Oscar sensation Slumdog Millionaire is a form of “poverty porn,” the filmmakers have donated about $740,000 toward a health education initiative in Mumbai’s slums, the Times of London reports. The funds are in addition to trusts set up for the movie’s...

Slumdog Star 'Very' Sick
 Slumdog Star 'Very' Sick 

Slumdog Star 'Very' Sick

Social worker worries about emotional effect of US tour

(Newser) - One of Slumdog Millionaire’s child stars is severely ill after returning to India from his whirlwind American tour, the Telegraph reports. Ten-year-old Azharuddin Ismail developed a temperature of 103 and started vomiting after arriving at his Mumbai slum home. His illness comes as critics slam the psychological effects of...

Young Slumdog Actor Gets Beating From Father

(Newser) - Angered that his son wouldn’t play to a crowd welcoming 10-year-old Slumdog Millionaire actor Azharuddin Mohammed back to Mumbai, the boy’s father administered a public beating today, the Sun reports. Azharuddin arrived home yesterday following the film’s Oscar triumph, and had the day off school; when he...

Slumdog Kids Promised New Digs

Indian government vows to upgrade housing for kids 'who have brought laurels' to nation

(Newser) - The two key child actors in Oscar-sweeping Slumdog Millionaire will receive new homes in Mumbai, compliments of the Indian government, Reuters reports. The children, who played the younger versions of the movie's main characters, "have brought laurels to the country, and we have been told that they live in...

18 Stories