Jordan's Queen Rania believes that offering banking services to the world's poor yields wide social benefits and launched a new microcredit campaign Wednesday, with insurance giant AIG pledging 1.5 million dollars to boost its operations.
When Jordanian public schools start classes on 19 August, all children, including refugee Iraqi students will be able to attend classes in the country's public schools.
"Even when tensions run high, the environment is one of the few areas where Israelis and Arabs cooperate. During the Palestinian uprising against Israel, officials of the two countries maintained contacts on issues such as water quality and waste removal."
On Monday, King Abdullah II of Jordan became the first Arab head of state to visit Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in 2003. The brief and previously unannounced visit was seen as a sign that Iraq's Arab neighbors finally are shedding their fear of a Shiite Muslim-led Iraq.
"Digicel Foundation has donated $20 million to repair hurricane-damaged Jamaican schools."
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has opened its 200th school in Indonesia's Aceh-Nias region, which was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami. As is the case with all UNICEF-built schools, it is both earthquake-resistant and child-friendly, UNICEF said.
The devastating tsunami that hit Indonesia so hard in December 2004 had two positive effects: it pushed the population to reflect and improve its mechanisms for managing catastrophes, for early detection of such events, and in the country's Aceh province it led to the end of a conflict which had lasted 70 years.
In Banda Aceh, Indonesian students who survived the tsunami were able to resume their lessons quickly, thanks to the overwhelming international response that allowed organizations like UNICEF to get children back into class – first in temporary schools, and now into 346 earthquake resistant, permanent buildings.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, is waging one of the world's most determined campaigns against terrorism — and much of the credit goes to the country's American-trained police unit, Detachment 88. Since Feb. 22, 48 suspected terrorists were caught within a seven-week period and another eight killed. In May, a further 16 suspects were arrested and five killed as police foiled a plot to assassinate Indonesia's President and visiting foreign dignitaries.
Indonesian electricity entrepreneur, Tri Mumpuni Iskandar - IBEKA photoAn Indonesian woman has developed micro-hydro projects that have already delivered electricity – and all that comes with it – to half a million Indonesians. The charismatic director wants to get power to the other 90 million Indonesians who are still without it.
Iceland is creating the world's first hydrogen-based economy, with hydrogen fueling stations and power plants serving all sides of the island.
"Ghana has adopted a new peace plan dubbed National Architecture for Peace" to foster "respect for the rule of law, transparency, accountability and free and fair elections", which have been achieved for the past seven years and lead to a durable internal peace.
A new kind of bicycle, lightweight and sturdy, made from the abundant bamboo in the forests of Ghana is making life easier for farmers and villagers who cannot afford cars and trucks.
A new group in Helsinki, Finland encourages taxpayers to focus on the good provided by public services, rather than dwelling on negative thoughts about income tax.
"Sunni and Shiite leaders from Iraq met in Finland on Friday to study past peace processes to see if lessons can be learned to end Iraq's inter-communal violence, Finnish officials said."
Britain said on Thursday it will give Ethiopia 133 million pounds (2.5 billion birr) this year to help the Horn of Africa country try to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, sending 1 million children to school and buying three million mosquito nets.
Using improved seeds, farmers in Ethiopia have more than tripled harvests and improved living standards.
Last month Ethiopia signed a deal to construct Africa's biggest wind farm. The 300 million dollar contract with a French company to complete the facility within two and a half years promises to yield 15 percent of of all electricity in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa.
The Netherlands is closing eight prisons due to a decline in crime that has left many cells empty. The Dutch ministry's research department expects the decline to continue.
Cuba is to end its policy of equal pay for all and allow workers and managers to earn performance bonuses -- another in a series of new reforms coming from the government of president Raul Castro.
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