After the Swedish government became the first to pass a vote in October officially recognising the Palestinian state, today on the 28th November, the French government prepares itself for a similar debate. ‘’It is an important step that confirms the Palestinian’s right to self-determination’’ said the Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom after she said
Africa is losing about $150 billion annually due to illegal financial flows through corruption, financial embezzlement and tax incentives to conglomerates. Between $1.2 trillion and $1.4 trillion has left Africa in illicit financial flows between 1980 and 2009, roughly equal to Africa’s current gross domestic product, and surpassing by far the money it received
The oil price has fallen by about 25 percent since June. This is translating to lower prices at the pump with many states now below $3 a gallon. Falling global oil prices clearly is good news for consumers. At present levels, these lower oil and gas prices equate to a $200 billion cost saving for
Africa’s experience with industrialization over the past quarter century has been disappointing. In 2010 sub-Saharan Africa’s average share of manufacturing value added in GDP was 10 percent, unchanged from the 1970s. At the same time, manufacturing output per person was about a third of the average for all developing countries, and manufactured exports
With the Russians gone and an abundance of oil money, Kazakhstan has big dreams. To help achieve China’s multibillion-dollar plans for a ‘New Silk Road, they plan to build a dry port and rail yard at Khorgos in the desert on its eastern border with China. This move comes after China’s manufacturers are increasingly moving
This November has been a very busy and important month for China. After three significant multilateral meetings held respectively in China (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), Myanmar (East Asia Summit), and Australia (G20 Summit) in the last two weeks, China has emerged out of them a true regional leader, which will have huge impacts on China itself
‘’Climate change is the greatest threat of our time’’ said James Michel, the president of Seychelles as he opened the AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) summit. The AOSIS is a coalition of small -island and low-lying coastal states and acts as an ad hoc lobby for Small Island developing States (SIDS) within the
While many men have stayed to fight, hatred has slowly seeped into the minds of the many women and children sheltering in refugee camps that bristle with stories of schoolchildren being gunned down and pregnant women ripped apart. “I used to be a student but now I won’t be one unless there’s peace, so
While there is a growing collective effort in the global community in reducing the illicit trade on drugs and human trafficking, there is a surge of another sub-category of illicit trade: environmental crime. From illegal logging to elephant poaching, environmental crime is now worth up to $213 billion USD a year and is helping to
As LGBT rights slowly become engrained and recognised in politics and society in many countries, in others, blaming the LGBT community remains a useful and popular political tool to distract attention from corruption and domestic problems, or even muster political support from religious and conservative constituencies. For example, facing re-election next year the Nigerian president,
Looking for a lucrative investment opportunity? Look no further than Crocodile farms. This sector makes $100,000,000 a year and sells its meat for human consumption and skin for the fashion industry. The fashion industry highly demands crocodile hide making it hard for the farmers to meet the demands because of the time it takes
Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) face particular challenges that limit their potential gains from trade, and restrict their resources for investing in development. There are 32 countries classified as landlocked developing, 16 of which are located in Africa, 10 in Asia, 4 in Europe and 2 in Latin America. Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, South
From April to June of this year the German economy shrank by 0.2%. Economists predict that this decline will continue, meaning that the country is facing a recession. Some economists believe that the economy will not turn around until the middle of 2015. The decline of the German economy not only worries investors in Germany,
