Topic: The World Bank Group

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Change Agent ‘Random Hacks of Kindness’ uses technology to solve problems

At 'Random Hacks of Kindness' events, technology experts volunteer to solve problems facing nonprofits and other organizations interested in doing good.
Rio+20: 5 key takeaways

Here are some of the promising developments and bigger disappointments of the Rio+20 global sustainability conference, which ends today.
G-20 deal sets up BRICS to backstop eurocrisis

Power shifts are on display at the G-20 in Mexico as emerging markets pledge funds to the International Monetary Fund in order to avert a European meltdown and its global impact.
Keep Calm French envoy: Russia is key player in Syria crisis

Russia supplies Syria with arms and protects it from military intervention by UN forces. But the French ambassador to US, François Delattre, says Russia may be more flexible than it seems.
Global News Blog Is China really the world's top economy? Much of the world thinks so

But much of the world would be wrong, according to recent study. China still lags far behind the US in GDP and personal wealth.
Focus Rio+20 challenge: expanding transportation to match growth in Mumbai

Mumbai's infrastructure is groaning under the pressure of its decade-long economic boom, as people travel for business and rising incomes put more private vehicles on the road.
Startup Act 2.0: Could it be an immigration breakthrough?

Startup Act 2.0 sponsors aim to build a new case for immigration reform. Their point: America has a deficit of employees with skills relevant to an economy built on innovation – and new immigrants can help.
Change Agent Heat-absorbing ceramic stoves cut fuel use

In Malawi, a new kind of cooking stove made from local materials requires much less fuel than traditional stoves, cutting the need for firewood and benefiting families and the environment.
Africa Monitor Declining child mortality in Africa: an effect of prosperity, enhanced aid — or both?

What is it that is reducing the number of early child deaths in Africa: foreign aid, or private economic growth? The answer isn't clear, but the old Africa of poverty and death is clearly on the wane.
To reward Myanmar for reforms, US eases economic sanctions, names ambassador

Hillary Clinton said the decision to suspend sanctions on export of American financial services and investment was the most significant action Washington has taken so far to reward Myanmar for its reforms.
Half as many women die during pregnancy, childbirth as in 1990

Worldwide, maternal mortality has been cut in half in the past 20 years, says a new UN-World Bank report. India and Nigeria accounted for about one-third of the 287,000 deaths in 2010 attributed to problems during pregnancy or childbirth.
Greece's economic woes may hurt US

Greece's problems and the larger European debt crisis may impact banks, the stock market, trade and even the 2012 election.
The Monitor's View Green accounting of economic growth

A World Bank study offers a new attempt to reconcile growth-oriented economics with Earth-oriented environmentalism. But can economists put price tags on nature?
Tax evasion: Is IRS tough? Try Brazil's 'Lion.'

Tax evasion is relentlessly sought out by Brazil's tax agents, known as 'The Lion.' Brazil is counting on the crackdown on tax evasion to fund ambitious government spending.
The PTA arrives in Mexico's schools

Parent-teacher associations are the face of the US public school system, but it is only recently that parents are starting to penetrate the hallways of Mexico's schools.
Change Agent World Bank unit, MasterCard Foundation boost small loans in Africa

They'll spend $37.4 million over five years to provide microfinancing, which helps people lift themselves out of poverty by starting or expanding small businesses, sending children to school, or improving farms.
Keep Calm Fighting continues between Sudan and South Sudan, as economies collapse

At this time last year, South Sudan was preparing to become Africa's newest nation. Now the dispute between South Sudan and Sudan may turn both into the latest failed states.
Private Empire

Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Coll takes a close look at secretive behemoth that is Exxon Mobil.
Change Agent Actor-activist Sean Penn says he's in Haiti for the long haul

Sean Penn's role in Haiti has evolved from heading a band of volunteers and serving as unofficial mayor of a homeless camp to becoming ambassador-at-large for President Michel Martelly, the first non-Haitian to receive the designation.
Egypt’s shaky finances: Can the IMF and government agree on a loan deal?

The IMF wants assurances that the political leaders who emerge to run Egypt after elections next month will be on board with the financial requirements underpinning a proposed $3.2 billion loan.
Egypt's dire economy looms over elections

Egypt's foreign reserves have tumbled to $15 billion from $36 billion, jeopardizing the government's ability to meet the people's needs. The future is about a lot more than voting.
Global Viewpoint Gordon Brown: 'Education without Borders' is a must for kids in conflict zones

Failure to protect the right to education for children in conflict zones fuels violence by drawing children to terrorist groups. In South Sudan, girls are more likely to die in childbirth than make it through primary school. The World Bank and IMF spring meeting must address this.
Africa Monitor No coup here: Malawi successfully transfers power

Malawi avoided a crisis after the death of Mutharika, through the peaceful transition of power to former vice president, and Mutharika critic, Joyce Banda, writes a guest blogger.
Imagining Cuba after Chávez

Venezuela provides Cuba with up to $15 billion a year, which helps offset the US embargo. But there is the real possibility Chávez may not win or survive another six-year term as president.
US tax time: A later deadline and other tax facts

Thanks to a holiday in Washington, D.C., the federal tax-filing deadline this year is April 17, two days later than usual. The extra time provides an opportunity to peruse some random tax-related facts.