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Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

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offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

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The Saker
A bird's eye view of the vineyard

offsite link Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb

offsite link The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?

offsite link What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are

offsite link Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
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Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

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The Climate Change Committee, the UK's official Net Zero advisory body, has told the Government that to hit Net Zero it must impose radical lifestyle changes on the UK population.
The post Climate Change Committee Demands Government Impose Radical Lifestyle Changes on UK appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Islamophobia Claims ?Used to Suppress Grooming Gang Reporting? Wed Feb 26, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Accusations of 'Islamophobia' are being used as a way to suppress the exposure of grooming gangs, a report has found, as worries grow about Labour introducing an Islamic blasphemy law by the back door.
The post Islamophobia Claims “Used to Suppress Grooming Gang Reporting” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Left-Wing Money Opposing Taxpayers? Priorities Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:31 | Charlotte Gill
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The post The Left-Wing Money Opposing Taxpayers’ Priorities appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why Are Boys So Much More Right-Wing Than Girls? Wed Feb 26, 2025 09:00 | Noah Carl
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The post Why Are Boys So Much More Right-Wing Than Girls? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Another Green Blob Gaslighting ?Report? Wed Feb 26, 2025 07:00 | Ben Pile
Another day, another 'report' from the Green Blob, this time from the CBI, gaslighting us with the claim that the 'green economy' is booming. What, you feel cold and poor due to sky high energy prices? You must be mad!
The post Another Green Blob Gaslighting ‘Report’ appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link France, unable to cope with the shock of Donald Trump, by Thierry Meyssan Wed Feb 26, 2025 12:08 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?121 Sat Feb 22, 2025 05:50 | en

offsite link US-Russian peace talks against the backdrop of Ukrainian attack on US interests ... Sat Feb 22, 2025 05:40 | en

offsite link Putin's triumph after 18 years: Munich Security Conference embraces multipolarit... Thu Feb 20, 2025 13:25 | en

offsite link Westerners and the conflict in Ukraine, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Feb 18, 2025 06:56 | en

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Aftershocks Pummel Highly Indebted Nepal

category international | miscellaneous | news report author Monday April 27, 2015 16:46author by Sophia Har - Jubilee USA Network Report this post to the editors

Poor Country Spends 217 Million Annually on Debt Payments

As Nepal experiences aftershocks from Saturday's earthquake, it may find relief in the IMF's Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, a fund that cancels the debt of poor countries in crisis.

Severe aftershocks continue to terrorize Nepal which was struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Saturday. The rising death toll climbed beyond 3,000 people. Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world, ranking 145th out of 187 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index. According to the World Bank, Nepal owes $3.8 billion in debt to foreign lenders and spent $217 million repaying debt in 2013. Nepal owes approximately $1.5 billion each to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and $54 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It owes $133 million to Japan and $101 million to China.

“Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world and needs immediate financing to recover,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the religious development coalition, Jubilee USA Network. "Relieving Nepal's debts not only provides resources now, but can also help the country rebuild."

Nepal is one of 38 countries eligible for assistance from the IMF's new Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCR). The IMF created the CCR in February to provide debt relief to poor countries impacted by natural disasters or health crises. The new fund canceled nearly $100 million in debt for Ebola-impacted countries. In order to qualify for relief from the new fund after a natural disaster, a country must meet certain criteria. The disaster must destroy more than 25% of the country's "productive capacity," impact one third of its people or cause damage greater than the size of the country's economy. It is not yet known if Nepal will qualify. Of the $54 million Nepal owes the IMF, $10 million is due in 2015 and nearly $13 million is due in 2016.

"This new IMF fund can provide urgent relief as Nepal struggles to recover," noted LeCompte, who serves on expert groups to the United Nations that focus on debt. "Given the amount Nepal owes to the World Bank, we really need the Bank to take leadership and cancel debt. It's time for the World Bank to release its own plans for a crisis rapid response facility."

The World Bank is working on a new facility to respond quickly to disasters but has yet to publicly release any details. The IMF asked governments to fund its new trust for future crises. The United Kingdom and Germany recently pledged $72 million in contributions. During the Spring IMF meetings, Austria, Portugal and Mexico also announced they would contribute $16 million more.

"Debt relief can help Nepal," said LeCompte. "The earthquake shows how debts keep poor countries ill prepared for crisis."

In 2010, Jubilee USA moved the IMF to cancel Haiti's debt after its earthquake and to create a new debt relief fund for countries struck by disasters. Last Fall, Jubilee USA worked with the White House to urge the IMF to use that fund to cancel debt for Ebola-impacted Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. In February, the IMF revised the previous debt relief fund and expanded it to include countries impacted by health crises. It then announced $100 million in debt relief for the three West African countries and called on governments to cancel $70 million more in Ebola-affected country debt.

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 400 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee's mission is to build an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. www.jubileeusa.org

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