tagged w/ World Bank Schemes
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The World Bank has approved a $1.5bn (£900m) loan to support Mexico's economic stimulus packages which aim to help it recover from the downturn.
Lucky mexico, The world bank helps cause the problems, then helps fix it!
wonder how much interest will be on the top of that loan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8377966.stmThe World Bank has approved a $1.5bn (£900m) loan to support Mexico's... more
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GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The World Bank unveiled its $215 million Central African Backbone program on Tuesday, to bring reliable, high-speed, low-cost internet access to the region for the first time.
Despite being the fastest-growing telecoms market in the world, Africa's broadband growth has been hamstrung by costly international bandwidth and patchy national infrastructure, impeding development and deterring investors.
Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic will take part in the initial $26.2 million phase, the World Bank said.
Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sudan can also participate in the program.
The 10-year program is being supported through a partnership between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank.
"Ultimately, our goal is to develop regional and national broadband backbones and significantly reduce the cost of ICT services in Central Africa," Mohsen Khalil, Director of Global Information and Communications Technologies at the World Bank Group, said in a statement.
In Africa, there are 10 undersea cables either under construction or in the planning stages, which could push down international bandwidth rates and increase the number of broadband users.
U.S.-based advisory firm AfricaNext Investment Research expects Africa's broadband market to grow more than fourfold in five years to 12.7 million users from 2.7 million in 2007.
This growth will be facilitated by new submarine cables and national networks due to launch this year and next, and the emergence of wireless technology such as EVDO and WiMax.
But Africa's fixed-line operators are already seeing a lot of customers moving to mobile networks due to lower prices and, according to telecoms advisory firm Delta Partners, this will propel mobile broadband to explode in the continent.
Currently, 1 gigabyte of international connectivity in Africa is $15-$30 depending on the country, Delta Partners said.
Separately on Tuesday, the International Telecommunication Union said mobile broadband penetration rates still low in many African countries and other developing nations.
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki and Gugulakhe Lourie; Editing by Dan Lalor)GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The World Bank unveiled its $215 million Central... more
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mae37
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added this
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2 years ago
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multiple simultaneous marches bring attention to the affairs of the world bank & international monetary fund. it was al fun and games until somebody put an eye out. includes critical visual analysis of why it turned so ugly so fast.multiple simultaneous marches bring attention to the affairs of the world bank &... more
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The increasing costs of production and the falling farm prices that go hand in hand with globalisation and corporate hijack of seed supply, combined with the decline in farm credit is putting an unbearable debt burden on farmers. The lure of huge profits linked with clever advertising strategies evolved by the seeds and chemical industries are forcing farmers into a chemical treadmill and a debt trap. It has been witnessed that across the country, farmers are taking the desperate step of ending their life. The pesticides, which had created debt, also became the source of ending indebted lives. More than 150,000 farmers have committed suicide in India due to distortions introduced in agriculture as a result of trade liberalisation. More than 20,000 farmers have committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh alone. After the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July 2006, the suicide has increased alarmingly, reaching more than 1400 with debt trap cotton farmers putting an end to their lives in Vidharbha region alone.
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Apart from providing guidance and help to the farmers for the revival of agriculture, Navdanya, under the "Asha ke Beej" (Seeds of Hope) program, distributed the indigenous variety of seeds to the farmers and encouraged them to shift to organic and sustainable agriculture. More than 6000 farmers were distributed indigenous seeds.
Navdanya also realized that one of the crisis farmers were facing was a seed famine created by Monsanto. Navdanya therefore started a seed bank in Kalaspur village. And on 2nd and 3rd June seeds were distributed from the seed bank in villages in Vidharbha.
Navdanya is committed to ending the vicious cycle of violence in agriculture, which is leading to farmers' suicides. We are committed to strengthening the virtuous cycles of peace based on cooperation with nature and among communities to promote a sustainable and life enhancing food system.
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People taking it upon themselves to fight Monsanto and give people hope gives me hope. Dr. Vandana Shiva is a woman who has been fighting for farmers and women, and against Monsanto and corporate ownership of seeds and resources including water for years. She is a heroine whom I personally love and respect very much for her tireless work on behalf of others.
The increasing costs of production and the falling farm prices that go hand in hand... more
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Maude Barlow is co-founder of the Blue Planet Project and a very vocal advocate for clean water for all. Her new book (The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water) lays out three main plans that must be instituted in order for our planet to avert a catastrophe regarding this crisis that according to the UN should be our top priority which include: Water conservation, water justice, and water democracy. We must as a global community see beyond the borders to the moral courage necessary to conserve and share this precious resource, as well as working on a treaty like the one we hope to see regarding the climate crisis that sets goals for conservation, sharing of resources, providing technology necessary to developing countries that helps them with conserving through agriculture, infrastructure, and basic education. And most importantly, declaring access to clean water a human right.This along with the climate crisis is the most crucial environmental issue we will face in this century. For me it is the most crucial because without water there is no life.Maude Barlow is co-founder of the Blue Planet Project and a very vocal advocate for... more
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