Topic: African Development Bank

Refugees no more, Liberians ponder if they're ready to go home

Liberians who fled their home lost their refugee status last year. The UN has helped repatriate 155,000 people since 2004, but painful memories of two civil wars keep some from returning home.

Tunisia seeks gold in former dictator's assets

Tunisia has been aggressively pursuing the assets of former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his associates, seizing bank accounts, luxury homes, and one-of-a-kind luxury cars.

Greece seen as most corrupt European nation, survey says

Transparency International ranks Greece, along with other European countries racked by the financial crisis, poorly in its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index.

In post-revolutionary Tunisia, 'it's (still) the economy, stupid.'

Violent protests in the countryside echo the economic protest that touched off the Arab Spring here as the new government struggles to improve on the jobs situation.

Could China overtake US as global trader?

A special report by the Associated Press examines China's influence with its trading partners over three decades, and how business, politics, and daily life are changing with China's rise as a global player.

Egyptian president names unknown as next prime minister

That Egyptian President Morsi chose an obscure former government minister for the post, which he promised to fill with an independent, likely indicates he had a hard time finding a willing taker.

Latin America Monitor Long distance relationship: Haiti's bid to join the African Union

Haiti may be over 5,000 miles away from Africa, but there are cultural, historical, and economic ties that make it more a part of Africa than the Americas, says guest blogger Ovetta Sampson.

Africa asks itself: Where is the aid money?

African nations pledged five months ago to do more to help each other when famine and disaster strike. But so far, they haven't come up with the promised cash.

Opinion: Africa isn't a lost cause, and global consumers are making a difference

In spite of conflicts and humanitarian crises, there's change afoot in Africa. Seven of the ten fastest-growing economies during the next five years will be in sub-Saharan Africa. To support them, global consumers can use the Internet to gain direct access to the goods of African artisans.

Africa Rising: Economic progress vs. cultural preservation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's state project to make it into one of the world's top sugar producers requires the resettling of semi-nomadic herders in permanent villages. Which priority wins out: cultural preservation or economic progress?

Africa Rising: Continent's income to triple, extreme poverty gone by 2060?

Most African countries 'will attain upper middle income status' by 2060, says a new report to be released tomorrow by the African Development Bank.

Why aren't African leaders giving more for famine relief?

African leaders talk often of 'African solutions for African problems,' but the paltry $70 million pledged at an AU famine-relief conference raises questions whether this mantra is just rhetoric.

West Africa Rising: Sierra Leone looks to 'smallholders' to solve agricultural woes

The West African nation plans to boost food production via a $400 million project to aid smallholders: subsistence growers farming on plots that average a mere four acres.

Africans planning electric power with climate change in mind

Africa is set to be hit hard by climate change, and it already faces the highest electric power costs in the world. But new initiatives could put Africa at forefront in adapting alternative energies.

Uganda anti-gay bill proposes death sentence for homosexuals

Uganda anti-gay bill: a bill that would sentence homosexuals in Uganda to death has been called a step backwards for human rights but may pass a vote in parliament.

West Africa Rising: World Bank offers Internet 'revolution' to Sierra Leone, Liberia

The World Bank’s board of directors last week approved an underwater fiber-optic cable project that promises to bring 'a major infrastructural revolution' to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The financial war in Ivory Coast: Five key questions answered

The real battle for the world's No. 1 cocoa producer isn't happening on the streets of the commercial capital, Abidjan. It's unfolding in bank corridors.

Why foreign forces are unlikely to intervene in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast's would-be prime minister, Guillaume Soro, called Wednesday for civil disobedience and foreign military intervention as the only ways out of the deadlock.

Ivory Coast opposition wants President Gbagbo ousted by force

Ivory Coast opposition leader and internationally recognized President-elect Alassane Ouattara urged international bodies to force Laurent Gbagbo from the presidency.

Canceling a country's debt is a thorny issue when that country is Congo

Almost $20 billion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's debt has been cancelled. While that is good for its economic progress, some decry the help because of Congo's human rights record.

Malawi gives gay couple 14 years in jail; public cheers

A Malawi court today sentenced a gay couple to 14 years in jail for practicing homosexuality. The case has brought criticism from the US and Europe, which provide more than 40 percent of Malawi's government budget.

Opinion: Relative quiet in Darfur: a window for progress in Sudan and eastern Chad

In order for Sudan to avoid a backslide into war, outside humanitarian aid work needs to cede the floor to local-led projects.

World

Financial crisis may worsen food crunch it eclipsed

Although commodity prices for a wide range of crops have fallen by as much as 50 percent from record highs in June, the financial crisis is expected to make food shortages dramatically worse.

Brazil becomes antipoverty showcase

The country's Bolsa Familia program – which pays poor mothers to keep their children in school and follow healthcare rules – is reducing poverty.