Friday 18, 08 Distribution

Website Pick:

University Libraries:

Foreign Information by Country. Extensive set of links by the libraries of the University of Colorado at Boulder.  The site provides a wealth of information on countries around the globe.  (Visit site)   

U.S Assistance:

$500 million U.S. Initiative Helps Palestinians Live the “American Dream” of Home Ownership

In a ceremony in Ramallah today, President of the U.S. Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Robert Mosbacher, Jr. launched an initiative to provide up to $500 million for a residential mortgage loan program to support the expansion of affordable housing for Palestinians.  The ceremony which marks the latest of U.S government assistance packages to Palestinians was attended by the Palestinian President Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad and U.S. Consul General Jacob Walles.  

“Mortgage finance that is both affordable and accessible is a vital engine for home ownership and economic growth,” Mosbacher said. (more)

Bush Orders $200 Million for Emergency Food Relief
Global food prices soar to record levels

Responding aggressively to a worsening global food crisis, President Bush has ordered an estimated $200 million in emergency U.S. food assistance for global relief efforts and to help relieve political instability in some regions.
"This additional food aid will address the impact of rising commodity prices on U.S. emergency food aid programs, and be used to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere," the White House said in a statement.”  (Read More) (باللغة العربية)

U.S Contemporary Issues:

Debate Begins over U.S. Government Role in Capital Markets
Flexibility, composition of proposed regulatory system at issue

Washington -- A Bush administration proposal for sweeping financial institution regulatory reform is stirring debate about the role of government in capital markets.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who unveiled the reform “blueprint” March 31, said the ideas it contains require “thoughtful discussions,” which he did not expect to be concluded in the near future.
Almost all experts, both inside and outside government, agree that the current system, a patchwork of poorly coordinated agencies with often overlapping authorities, is convoluted and inefficient. Some of the agencies date back to the Civil War of the 1860s, although most were established during the Great Depression in the 1930s.  (Read more) (باللغة العربية)

Americans "Celebrate" Tax Day
Annual reconciliation of tax obligations provides refunds for most

It is for many Americans a chore delayed until the last possible moment. Some resolve to "file early" but instead queue up at local post offices, many of which obligingly remain open until midnight on this one night. Another mid-April has arrived, and once again citizens of the United States rush to file their income tax returns.  Tax Day is not when Americans pay their taxes, but is rather the annual deadline for reconciling their total annual tax obligation against payments withheld from their pay during the preceding year. For more than four in five tax returns, that reconciliation actually results in a refund of overpaid taxes. For those Americans, Tax Day is a genuine holiday.  (Read more) (باللغة العربية)

Democratic Presidential Nomination Race Seen Ending by July 4
Role of national party conventions has diminished in recent years

The race for the Democratic presidential nomination will probably end in June and certainly by America’s Independence Day on July 4, political analyst Larry Sabato tells America.gov.
Sabato, a University of Virginia professor of politics, said the race will end “immediately” if Illinois Senator Barack Obama pulls an upset and defeats New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary April 22, a development the professor said would guarantee Obama’s nomination. A win by Clinton in Pennsylvania is expected to prolong the race until the last Democratic primaries are held June 3 in Montana and South Dakota.    (Read more) (باللغة العربية)

National Conventions Going Green
Republicans and Democrats seek to make conventions environmentally friendly

Although the 2008 Republican and Democratic national conventions are still months away, preparations to make them environmentally friendly are well under way.  When tens of thousands of people descend on Denver for the Democratic National Convention August 25-29 and St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Republican National Convention September 1-4, they will be participants in the greenest conventions in U.S. history. (Read more) (ياللغة العربية)

Human Rights:

Former Child Soldier a Beacon of Hope to Conflict Survivors
Ishmael Beah campaigns for rehabilitation of former child combatants

I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance.”
 -- Ishmael Beah, from his book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Ishmael Beah saw and did some horrible things during the civil war that wracked Sierra Leone -- all when he was just a young teen.  But with some support and good luck, he is now able to extend a helping hand to children who have been pressed into combat.  At age 12, Beah lost his family when the rebel army, known as the Revolutionary United Front, attacked his town.  Running away from the carnage, he wandered the countryside for nearly a year with other frightened boys his age.  Finally, he and his little group happened into a government army base and quickly were recruited as soldiers to fight the war.  (Read more) (باللغة العربية)

Education Studies:

The Road Not Traveled:  Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Authors: Galal,A.
Produced by: World Bank (2008)

Education is at the crossroads for the future of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It plays a crucial role in promoting poverty alleviation and economic growth, both at national and at household levels. This report traces the successes and the challenges facing the development of education in the region to identify promising education reform options for the future.

According to the report, MENA countries continue to lag behind many comparator countries, as measured by years of educational attainment in the adult population. The educational achievements to date are in part compromised by high dropout rates and relatively low scores on international tests. Despite remarkable improvements in expanding access and closing gender disparity at the primary education level, adult literacy is still low and education systems do not produce the skills needed in an increasingly competitive world. Unemployment is particularly high among graduates, and a large segment of ! the educated labour force is employed by governments. As a consequence, the link between education and economic growth, income distribution, and poverty reduction is weak.  (Full report)

Education in the Muslim world

Authors: Hunt,F.; Murphy,L.
Produced by: Eldis Education Resource Guide (2008)

This issues page examines education in the Muslim World. Most frequently, it refers to majority Muslim countries where Islam dominates politically. It's aim is to provide a starting point for discussion on education in the Muslim world, and specifically provides literature on educational access with a focus on gender; curriculum and content of educational provision; and types of educational providers, and specifically, how decisions are being made about where children go to school.

Much of the literature on education in the Muslim world focuses on educational provision in individual states or between states, rather than literature which specifically links to religious aspects of that provision. While there is a growing literature on aspects of research which might relate more specifically to aspects of Islam (e.g. curriculum content, types of service providers etc.), this is often less prevalent. What is available here should be seen as a starting point for debate; and hopefully as research interest in education in the Muslim world develops, more evidence-based resources will become available.  (Full report)

Global Economy:

World Finance Leaders to Meet as Concerns on Global Economy Grow
Economy growth rates on agenda for International Monetary Fund, World Bank

Financial leaders from around the world are converging on Washington for meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank April 12-13 against the backdrop of growing concerns about the global economy.  Simon Johnson, IMF director of research, said the subprime mortgage housing crisis in the United States has brought economic growth in the world's largest economy nearly to a standstill.  The U.S. economic turmoil, he added, has prompted the IMF to lower its projection for global growth in 2008 to 3.7 percent, well below its earlier prediction of 4.9 percent.   (Read more)

Rising Global Food Prices Likely to Continue, Experts Say
Higher food costs have led to increasing civil unrest

Sharply rising costs for food staples and fuel are leading to deadly clashes in impoverished countries and likely will continue for some time, say international experts.  "The problem is very serious around the world due to severe price rises and we have seen riots in Egypt, Cameroon, Haiti and Burkina Faso," says Jacques Diouf, director-general of the U.N.'s Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  "There is a risk that this unrest will spread in countries where 50 to 60 percent of income goes to food." (Read more) (باللغة العربية)