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World Bank Group Commits US$ 5 Billion to Boost Electricity Generation in Six African Countries
The World Bank Group has committed $5 billion in new technical and financial support for energy projects in six African countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Tanzania—which have partnered with President Obama’s Power Africa initiative. Making the announcement on
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The Euro – A Paradox Checks Into Hotel California
It could have been conceived a bit more thoughtfully, but as a project the European common currency is not altogether farfetched or indeed destined for failure. The euro was specifically created to offer an alternative to the erstwhile all-mighty US
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Back to Africa – Chibwe Masabo Henry: The Diaspora as a Driver of Development
Having medical doctors, specialists, nurses and other healthcare workers readily available to take charge in case of illness may be the norm in many developed countries; it still is much the exception elsewhere on the globe. Countless lives are lost
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The European Conundrum
The European Union is an interesting project that – once logic is duly applied – must end up with the foundation of a United States of Europe (USE). Strangely enough, very few of the union’s citizens actually want to live
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Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014): A Farewell to the Patriarch of Literature
It is a rare genius who can encapsulate in writing the soul of a country. One who does so with an entire continent is rarer still. Those attributed with such virtuosity tend to be long dead, and most had the
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Why Business Leaders Support a Price on Carbon
Climate change can put the resources, supply chains, and infrastructure that companies rely on at risk, while also threatening to roll back decades of global development progress. Business leaders recognize the risks. Several have started to use an internal “shadow
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Mikkelson Brothers: Doing Good through a Chance Meeting
Danes David and Christopher Mikkelson are solid heroes for the humble and conscientious work they have done in establishing Refugees United (REFUNITE) in 2008. This organisation helps family members search online for refugees in order to connect and communicate with
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MIGA (World Bank): Islamic Finance – A Growing Source of Capital for the Developing World
The World Bank has its eye on Islamic finance, and with reason. Islamic finance’s recent globalization – in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries alike – has increased the total size of its assets to around $1.5 trillion. In both the
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World Bank Policies Include Screening for Climate Risks
The World Bank Group has made a priority of helping countries adapt to and mitigate the risks of climate change, and it is increasingly viewing its lending through a climate lens. Over the past few years, it has started implementing
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Hamza Najeeb: Courageously Looking for Answers
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel? Hamza Kashgari Mohammad Najeeb is a poet in his mid-twenties. He was a columnist for al-Bilad newspaper until early 2012 when he expressed some concerns about the tenets of his inherited religion as
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