The #UnitedStates will impose sanctions on Iran’s missile & drone program, as well as entities supporting the Iranian regime or military, #NationalSecurity adviser Jake Sullivan announced late Tues.
Earlier in the day, #Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said additional sanctions on Iran would be forthcoming in retaliation for its attack against Israel over the weekend.
#US ofcls & their #EU#allies are discussing potential #economic responses to Iran, as leading Western ofcls converged on Washington for the spring meetings of the % #IMF & #WorldBank. Their options are limited because #Iran is already one of the most heavily penalized countries in the world, w/ US #sanctions in effect on its #banking, #manufacturing & #energy sectors.
"[Honduran President Xiomara] Castro has deemed the forum, called the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, to be an illegitimate usurpation of Honduran sovereignty and has hit upon an elegant solution: She has taken steps to withdraw Honduras from ICSID."
At least three million Tanzanians were pushed into poverty during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank says in its latest report. In the 20th edition of Tanzania Economic Update, the World Bank says the number of Tanzanians living in poverty surged from 14 million in 2018 to 17 million by 2022....
World Bank papers show ‘most concerning’ decline in toilet usage in Modi govt's flagship Swacch Bharat Mission. But three research papers were withdrawn ‘under pressure’ later . Pity Indian govt cannot take criticism
80 percent of the #Maldives is less than a metre (three feet) above #SeaLevel.
And while fortress-like walls ringing tightly-packed settlements can keep the waves at bay, the fate of the beach islands the tourists come for are uncertain.
New Paper Counters Surjit Bhalla And Govt Claims On Lower Poverty In India
A new paper authored by economists Rishabh Kumar and Maitreesh Ghatak has raised questions about the calculations made by researchers in working papers published by the IMF and the World Bank.
'My job is to make sure we rebuild Britain’s reputation position on international development & that we play the part we have always played in driving forward the agenda'.
Well its his Govt. that caused the problem(s), so I suppose he's well placed to do something about it?
No-one else sliced the Aid budget & has shredded our international reputation across so many other areas.
Stiglitz "said rich countries should support the creation of $300bn of #IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) each year to finance a global green transition."
But the devil is in the details: if this money comes in the shape of high interest loans that's not helping developing countries, that's loansharking.
"Stiell called for the #WorldBank and governments to “step up the pace” on #ClimateFinance, including by addressing new sources of funds. These could include a frequent flyer levy and taxes on the carbon emissions from #shipping.
He called for reform at the development banks, [and] changes to the banks’ lending practices that would give poor countries greater access to finance."
"The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing’s answer to the #WorldBank, is set to unveil a “#climate action plan” this week that will become its top priority and spur a sharp increase in financing."
This could be a good thing. It could also put developing countries into deeper debt, the way the World Bank and the #IMF have done.
Some notable reviews given (via Waterstones website) to newly-published “Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy” by investigative journalists Claire #Provost and Matt #Kennard.
Noam Chomsky: “This wide-ranging inquiry-based on intensive on-the-ground investigation-unearths 'a parallel world, outside of scrutiny...with very real consequences. An ugly world, out of control, unaccountable, but with overwhelming power. It ranges from investor-state legal systems to intricate systems of corporate welfare that aid elites and investors. Always concealed in elaborate devices of seeming to do good. Silent Coup is a highly revealing expose of the hidden real world.”
Jayati Ghosh: “Silent Coup is a crime story: a gripping description of the murky legal, and regulatory structures and policy changes that privilege big corporations. It's a tragedy, outlining the terrible consequences for people and nature, for democracy and accountability. It's a lesson in economics, providing fascinating and important insights into the functioning of global capitalism today. But finally it's also a story of hope, about apparently powerless people resisting these trends in the struggle for better and more just futures. Don't miss this.”
Vadana Shiva: “Silent Coup is investigative journalism at its best. It shows us how corporations rule the world: suing sovereign, democratic governments in invisible courts to erode constitutions and the democratic rights they enshrine-and writing laws and treaties to privatise the earth's resources and public goods. Sovereign communities and countries are being displaced by sovereign companies and the supranational systems they have built to establish their control, creating in the process our age of corporate colonialism. The book is vital reading for all who care for human freedom, human rights and democracy.”
If you do anything today, I highly recommend that you listen to Chris Hedges’ @chrislynnhedges] most recent podcast!
It’s only short (36 mins) but, boy!, it provides such a powerful insight into the ‘silent coup’ that global corporations have engineered to essentially overthrow democracy across the world since the post -WWII decolonisation period!
Hedges interviews Matt Kennard of @Declassified_UK about his new book “Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy”
The World Bank has cut off new funding for Uganda over the country’s recently enacted anti-LGBTQ+ law, which provides for execution or life imprisonment for same-sex relations....
A new U.N. report says some 3.3 billion people – almost half of humanity – now live in countries that spend more money paying interest on their debts than on education or health.
It will discontinue the subscription-based eLibrary and move its contents to its two OA platforms, the Open Knowledge Repository and the Documents and Reports database.
World Bank: Covid-19 pushed three million Tanzanians into poverty (www.thecitizen.co.tz)
At least three million Tanzanians were pushed into poverty during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank says in its latest report. In the 20th edition of Tanzania Economic Update, the World Bank says the number of Tanzanians living in poverty surged from 14 million in 2018 to 17 million by 2022....
World Bank cuts off funds to Uganda over anti-LGBTQ+ law (Anti-Homosexuality Act) (news.yahoo.com)
The World Bank has cut off new funding for Uganda over the country’s recently enacted anti-LGBTQ+ law, which provides for execution or life imprisonment for same-sex relations....
3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt interest than education, UN says (apnews.com)
A new U.N. report says some 3.3 billion people – almost half of humanity – now live in countries that spend more money paying interest on their debts than on education or health.