What We’re Reading 10/8/09

Oct 8th, 2009 10:00 PM UTC
By Robyn Mitchell

Reuters: Resources running out: African Development Bank chief
President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, emphasized that the Bank has sped up its lending to the region’s 38 poorest countries in response to the downturn in the global economy and will run out of resources by the end of 2010. Meeting in Istanbul this week, the world’s regional development banks and the World Bank are preparing to present their case for more resources to major donor countries early next year.

Reuters: U.S. cool to Mugabe’s overture for better ties
The United States reacted “coolly” on Wednesday to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s overture for better ties, saying he should “end political arrests and media censorship and honor a power-sharing deal.” In response to Mugabe’s statement that he was open to cooperative relations with “all those countries that have been hostile to us,” a State Department spokesman urged the leader to end “politicized arrests and prosecutions and often violent land seizures” as well as to replace what he described as Zimbabwe’s “corrupt attorney general and reserve bank governor.”

The Inquirer: Liberia Making Strides to Achieve Final Debt Waiver…Says IMF
According to the International Monetary Fund, Liberia has met key benchmarks for clearing its huge external debt and is making impressive progress to achieving final debt waiver. An IMF official emphasized that Liberia is making strides toward reaching its completion point and assured that if the country keeps on its current tract, a final debt waiver will be achieved before the end of 2010.

The Wall Street Journal: Former President Clinton Strikes Gloomy Note at Forum
Former President Bill Clinton struck a gloomy note in a wide-ranging speech at the World Business Forum that addressed everything from the financial crisis to global inequality to swine flu and climate change. He focused on the issue of inequality, noting while some countries like the U.S. and Japan are achieving longer life spans, “people in Africa are still dying from AIDS, malaria and other diseases.” Clinton praised President Bush for convincing conservatives to spend money preventing AIDS and malaria in Africa, however, he emphasized that such problems will only continue to worsen if issues such as climate change are not addressed.

Zimeye.org: Food aid agencies reject Mugabe’s claims
Aid officials said Wednesday that at least two million Zimbabweans will need food handouts from international donors until April 2010, contrary to claims by President Robert Mugabe that the country no longer requires help from outside. Despite Mugabe’s recent interview on CNN in which he said that Zimbabwe harvested enough food to no longer need foreign supplies, UN officials emphasized that there is still a “substantial portion of the population that need basic foodstuffs such as sugar and cooking oil, if not more.”

The Guardian: US threatens to derail climate talks by refusing to include Kyoto targets
According to the Guardian, the US threatened to derail a deal on global climate change today in a public showdown with China by expressing deep opposition to the existing Kyoto protocol. The US team also urged other rich countries to join it in setting up a new legal agreement which would, unlike Kyoto, force all countries to reduce emissions. The EU sided strongly with the US in seeking a new agreement, but said that it hoped the best elements of Kyoto could be kept.

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