An Actor Out of His Depth: Clooney Keeps an Eye on Sudan

US heartthrob George Clooney – according People Magazine the Sexiest Man Alive – has found a new calling: Spying. The actor has earmarked the proceeds of his Nespresso coffee endorsement to finance an eye in the sky which is to

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Learning the Ropes in Peru: Chinese Companies Engage Local Communities

Chinese companies are learning how to navigate the tricky waters of community politics in perhaps the most unlikely of places: Peru. Here, Chinese businesses have found it next to impossible to buy their way into the local hearts and minds.

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The War on Tax Evasion: How a Good Pursuit Gets Ugly

At first glance, the showdown between the US government and the Swiss banks seems to have produced a satisfactory outcome: Tax dodgers can no longer park their undeclared monies in Switzerland without fear of discovery. Under a new bilateral deal,

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Experts Debate Dubai’s Post-Recession Property Boom – Another Bubble or Sustained Recovery?

More than 750 senior real estate professionals prepped for Global Real Estate Summit and MENA Mortgage and Affordable Housing Congress Dubai, UAE, 11 August, 2013: With all sectors of the Dubai property market now gaining momentum in making a healthy

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Angola: Powering A Booming Economy with Renewables

Alternative, renewable energy is not merely an afterthought in oil-rich Angola as the country seeks to diversify its booming economy. After an absence of three full decades, sugar cane made its return as a cash crop just five years ago

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Moving into Pakistan Big Time: China to Invest Serious Money

China has the money and is not afraid to invest it in Pakistan. The Chinese Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) is set to disburse some $6bn over the next five years in Pakistan’s energy sector in a bid to help

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A Flash in the Pan Fizzles Out: The Downfall of a Brazilian Tycoon

Playing the markets and getting at the mega-bucks with financial wizardry does not a businessman make: Brazil’s flamboyant Eike Batista – erstwhile owner of the world’s seventh largest fortune – has fallen off his perch in the most spectacular of

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Barking Up the Wrong Tree in St. Petersburg: G20 Hijacked by Syria Conflict

The world leaders gathered today in St. Petersburg for the G20 summit were supposed to discuss the slowdown of global economic growth and ways to combat tax evasion. This agenda has now been largely supplanted by developments in Syria and

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Small Egypt Farmers Catch the Eye of Agribusiness: IFAD Finds Key to Success

Twenty-odd years ago, groups of dispossessed farmers and unemployed youth were resettled on smallholdings in Upper Egypt. Authorities told the new arrivals to go till the desert soil. Plots – sandboxes really – of one to two hectares were duly

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Christopher Colford, World Bank: Competitive Cities Can Meet the Challenge of Job Creation

Focusing policies on competitive industries can provide jobs for the impoverished, hungry, restive urban millions As magnets for talent and crucibles of creativity, dynamic cities are the pacesetters for innovation in this era of relentless global competition. Vibrant metropolitan regions

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