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Palestinian economy increasingly dependent on foreign aid

The Palestinian economy is declining and becoming more dependent on foreign aid, as the Israel-imposed economic restrictions have increased, the World Bank said in a report released on Wednesday. In the 65-page monitoring report prepared for a conference of donor countries in the United States later this month, the World Bank said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) notes a 0.5-percent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) of the Palestinian territories in 2007. \"With a growing population...

WB chief urges G8 to act now

World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick has called on leaders of the G8 as well as the major oil producers to act now to deal with surging food and energy prices, warning that the world is now \"entering a danger zone\". Zoellick\'s call is contained in a July 1 letter to the head of the upcoming G8 summit in Japan, in which the Bank, World Food Program (WFP) and International Monetary Fund estimate that about 10 billion dollars is needed to meet short term needs of people hit hardest by the...

World Bank Helps Clean up Chinas Pearl River

Yesterday the World Bank\'s Board of Executive Directors approved a loan of US$96 million to the People\'s Republic of China to help finance the Second Guangdong Pearl River Delta Urban Environment Project. The project will help reduce water pollution in the Pearl River system in Guangdong Province through a package of key initiatives, including wastewater treatment and sludge disposal, industrial pollution control and water quality monitoring, sediment removal from waterways, and flood...

WB: China makes remarkable success in poverty reduction

China has made remarkable success in poverty reduction despite challenges ahead, according to a report released by the World Bank recently. In a new paper, \"The developing world is poorer than we thought but no less successful in the fight against poverty,\" the Bank revised estimates of poverty since 1981, finding that 1.4 billion people in the developing world were living on below 1.25 US dollars a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion in 1981. In China, the number of people living on less...

China Eximbank, World Bank Sign Cooperation Memo

Senior managers of the Export-Import Bank of China and the World Bank came together Monday in Washington to sign a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at building collaboration between the two organizations for development, with a particular focus on Africa. Mr. Li Ruogu, Chairman and President of Eximbank and Mr. Juan Jose Daboub, Managing Director of the World Bank, signed the Memorandum of Understanding that is designed to facilitate deepened cooperation. Established in 1994 Eximbank is...

WB raises China 2008 growth forecast to 9.8%

In view of China\'s strong growth of its service sector, the World Bank (WB) raised its forecast for China\'s 2008 economic growth to 9.8 percent in a report released on Thursday. In April, it forecast a 9.4 percent growth, down from the 9.6 percent prediction made in the beginning of 2008 and 10.8 percent made in mid 2007. The upward revision this time largely reflected data showing stronger service sector growth of China\'s revised GDP data, said the World Bank in a Quarterly Update for...

World Bank to Help Recover Assets Stolen by Corrupt Officials

The World Bank has unveiled an initiative to help developing countries recover assets stolen by corrupt leaders and officials. \"We at the World Bank, in partnership with the international community, want to help developing countries recover assets that have been stolen by former corrupt leaders,\" said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. \"This is a moral obligation. Recovering even a portion of the stolen assets will help fund development and social programs, or badly-needed...

WB calls on donors to boost aid for developing countries

The World Bank has called on donors to further boost aid as investment in developing countries heads for a \"perfect storm.\" In a statement issued as development experts prepare for the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, Qatar over the weekend, the Bank said it is imperative that donors meet their Gleneagles commitments to debt relief and scaled-up aid. At present, G7 countries are falling 30 billion U.S. dollars short of these goals. \"Developed country...

WB: China makes remarkable success in poverty reduction

China has made remarkable success in poverty reduction despite challenges ahead, according to a report released by the World Bank recently. In a new paper, \"The developing world is poorer than we thought but no less successful in the fight against poverty,\" the Bank revised estimates of poverty since 1981, finding that 1.4 billion people in the developing world were living on below 1.25 US dollars a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion in 1981. In China, the number of people living on less...

WB chief joins call for lifting food trade restriction

World Bank President Robert Zoellick joined the call on Wednesday for the lifting of food trade restrictions in face of soaring food prices. \"We need an international call to remove export bans and restrictions,\" Zoellick told reporters on the sidelines of a world summit on the food crisis hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). \"These controls encourage hoarding, drive up prices and hurt the poorest people around the world who are struggling to feed...