Afghanistan (Part Two): The Saudi Arabia of Lithium
See Part One here:
Whatever the doubts about the future path of its politics and concerns over ratcheting levels of violence, donors remain committed to Afghanistan, for now.
The 2020 Conference in Geneva pledged more than $12-billion for the period 2021-24. While this represents a drop of 20% over the $15.2 billion pledged in Brussels in 2016, and below projections for the country’s needs, it’s an indication that no-one intends, for now, to cut their losses and run.
This money is enough to keep things running, but is a sign of the times and a reminder of the need for a “normal” economy at some point to take over in Afghanistan from the “aid” one.
Croatian technological innovation has died?
News Highlights: Croatian technological innovation has died?
February 14, 2021 – Has technological innovation in Croatia died? While there is much that could be said to serve as a solid argument against that, with the continued boom of the Croatian IT industry despite the ongoing pandemic and the kind of native masterminds like Mate Rimac, the Bloomberg Index thinks otherwise.
Like Novac / Marko Biocina writes that almost not a week goes by without the results of some sort of global index being presented to the Croatian public, and based on these results people draw different conclusions about the state of the Croatian economy and society in general. A recent example of such a practice was the publication of the annual report of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, where Croatia posted a modest rating of 47 points, putting it lower than countries like Jordan and even Rwanda.
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Published 11 February 2021
AMID perennial losses, scandals, the obvious lack of capacity to manage them and a cash squeeze, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation should drop all schemes to hold on any longer to its four moribund refineries. Among its stratagems, its managers, accordin
g to Reuters, hope to raise $1 billion in a prepayment plan with trading firms to refurbish the Port Harcourt complex as part of an overall scheme to rehabilitate all four. Any such plan is unnecessary and wasteful. The refineries have gulped far too much public funds, shut out competition and investment in the oil downstream and entrenched a culture of waste. They should be sold immediately.
Is Russia s future Belarus s present? aspistrategist.org.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspistrategist.org.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Afghanistan: 3 Former Senators Jailed In Bribery Case
Anwar Bashliq, Azim Qoyash, Liyaqatullah Babakarkhil guilty of taking thousands of dollars in bribes, authorities say. Three former members of the upper house of Afghanistan s parliament were handed down prison sentences in a bribery case on Saturday.
Mohammad Anwar Bashliq, Mohammad Azim Qoyash, and Liyaqatullah Babakarkhil face up to 10 years in jail and have to pay a fine of $40,000 each, according to a ruling by the primary court of the Anti-Corruption Justice Center.
The three men, all former members of the Meshrano Jirga, or House of Elders, were found guilty of taking $60,000 in bribes from customs officials, the Attorney General s Office said in a statement.