Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The World Bank approved $410 million to improve municipal governance and basic urban services in district towns and municipalities in Bangladesh and benefit 3.4 million people in around 100 urban communities across the country.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

The world economy is projected to strengthen this year, with growth picking up in developing countries and high-income economies appearing to be finally turning the corner five years after the global financial crisis, says the World Bank’s newly-released Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report.

The most hazardous plastics and certain plastic bags should be banned by 2020, as part of an EU strategy to reduce plastic waste in the environment, says the European Parliament in a resolution voted on Tuesday. The EU should also introduce binding plastic waste recycling targets, MEPs add.

The State Bank of Vietnam and the World Bank signed a credit of US$ 250 million to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the road asset management and maintenance practices in Vietnam.

Norway gave USD 4.8 billion in official development assistance (ODA) in 2012, or 0.93 percent of its gross national income (GNI). That made it the third most-generous member in terms of its ODA/GNI ratio of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which groups major donors.

President Schulz congratulated Latvia on becoming the 18th country to join the Euro, promised a debate at the next session on the recent catastrophic weather and stressed Parliament’s support for the forthcoming UN conference on Syria’s future, in his opening remarks.

On December 6, 2013, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewed experience with the implementation of the decision adopted in 2010 to integrate financial stability assessments under the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) into Article IV Surveillance on a mandatory basis for member countries with systemically important financial sectors.

Whether to restart jobless checks for America’s long-term unemployed will remain the focus of Senate debate this week. Benefits for more than a million people expired in December, coinciding with a dramatic slowing of U.S. job creation.

At the authorities’ request, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Management has approved a six-month extension of Zimbabwe’s Staff Monitored Program (SMP) to allow time for the national authorities to strengthen their policies and deliver on outstanding commitments under the program.