 a diversified economy because it has to provide jobs for millions of people," World Bank country director Hedi Larbi said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington.
"This is a country where the potential is huge. We need to help Iraq as the next tiger of the region," he said.
The World Bank said the Iraqi government had to clean up banks' balance sheets, boost supervision of the financial system and level the playing field for competition from the private sector.
"To better balance the economy, a deepening of the financial sector is needed to support growth of the non-oil sector," the poverty fighting institute said in its report.
Officials said Iraq's muddled financial sector was but one of the barriers to economic growth and said security and macro-economic stability was still needed.
"It has improved an enormous amount, but it is still a risky environment," said Ron Van Rooden, the IMF's mission chief for Iraq.
The IMF expects Iraq's gross domestic product to expand 9.6 percent this year and 12.6 the following year. That is in sharp contrast to many other Middle Eastern and North African countries, which will see declines in growth in 2012 due to weakening oil prices and a global slowdown.
Iraq's finance minister said his country would be able to weather the downturn in oil prices with higher output.
"If we increase the production versus the changes in the prices this can make up the budget," Rafi El Essawi told reporters. "With the hope that we may add to the infrastructure of the export of oil at the end of this year, we will add a little bit to the Iraq economy."
The country is currently producing about 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and is trying to boost output capacity to 12 million bpd by 2017.Alden Ducazau is a junior International Relations and Global Studies major from San Diego, California. Her passion for foreign policy and desire to serve her nation developed from growing up in a military family. Alden’s particular interests include the relationship between the US military and the Intelligence Community, Counterterrorism, and the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the diplomatic and political environment of the Middle East. She is also studying French and spent her sophomore studying abroad at Sciences Po in Paris, France. Upon return to UT, Alden looks forward to interning at Susan G. Komen Austin, growing academically and professionally as a Clements Center Fellow, as well as volunteering for Caring for Camo (a student organization serving our deployed troops). Post graduation, Alden aspires to pursue a career in the US defense or intelligence sector.Hinta 6,90 €
This seed kit is all about the basic chile pepper varieties. They are fast to grow but can be a little challenging to overwinter and might not produce continuous yield as easily as many other species do.
Black Cobra
This prolific, fast and compact plant produces very hot pods which often turn black before finally ripening bright red. This one of the hottest C. annuum peppers and perfect for hot Asian and Mexican cooking! From USA/Mexico
Devil’s Brew
A devilish variety which heat type makes it feel hotter than it actually is. Very good for asian/chinese/indian style cooking. The plant is very bushy which produces so many pods even in smaller container. Ideal for outdoor/patio/balcony growing.
Hot Tomato
A very thick fleshed, sweet pods with mild-medium pungency.
Especially good with salsas and salads. Easy to grow outdoors.
Very fast to mature. This common pod type originates from Hungary. Great for stuffing with cheese, minced meat or rice.
Purira
A surprisingly poorly known favorite from Mexican cuisine!
This beautiful pepper is among the hottest annuum peppers –
definitely strong enough for any purpose. Its taste and flavor are, however,
much more pleasant than in most hot annuum peppers. Very early variety with lots
of eye candy due to its color-changing beautiful pods. Recommended for every chile pepper grower! Grows very nicely even in small pots. Try drying and crushing the pods for your foods!As you might have noticed from my recent article about using it with Flickr, I’m crazy in love with the Web tool IFTTT right now. Recently it announced that it would no longer support using Twitter as a “trigger” in its recipes, because of changes to the Twitter API and its requirements. When I read that I felt cold all over, because I feel like it’s the beginning of the end for Twitter. This isn’t even about posting to the service. This is about tying in an information flow from the service, and making it essential to other things. From the outside it looks like Twitter is trying harder and harder to isolate itself and be very picky about how it shares its user-generated content, which is very 1998 of it. The Next Web feels much like I do and expresses it more eloquently. I will still use Twitter, but when it comes to making it part of my personal infoecosystem, no. I don’t trust it. Which means eventually I’ll find other sources and stop using it.
Keeping up with iOS bargains using AppsGoneFree. I admit I buy a lot of apps. I remember very clearly all the boxed software I bought and how much it costs, and it blows my mind the useful stuff I can get for just a couple of bucks.
Emory University has archived the Occupy Wall Street tweets. “Emory Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Commons (DiSC) has collected more than 10 million tweets about the Occupy Wall Street movement and shaped them into visualizations, like word clouds and heat maps.” Also? Twap.
Wolfram|Alpha has released a couple of new apps: Wolfram Isotopes Reference App and Wolfram Radiation Protection Reference App.
Kara Swisher asks: What will Marissa Mayer do? “Now comes the hard part: Actually beginning to make the significant decisions about how she’s going to turn around Yahoo and what the key issues of strategic focus need to be.” I disagree completely. With her background and experience, Ms. Mayer probably has a pretty good sense of what she wants to do. The hard part is going to be getting buy-in and momentum from the employees who have spent the last couple of years being demoralized and jerked around.
A list of the Top 50 Social Media blogs to Watch in 2013. I read about ten of these.
YouTube is beta testing a new feature that will allow users to add quizzes to videos. Details at Engadget.
When empathy meets exploration, it encourages us to travel wisely and take into consideration the impact our wanderlust could have on the environment.
Eco-tourism is the practice of travel or tourism activities that are respectful and protective of Earth’s natural resources. Increasingly, Australia’s tourism and conservation sectors are collaborating for greater environmental protection.
Being a sustainable traveller helps us to continue exploring and take enjoyment from the planet while preserving its beauty and healthy ecosystems. Play your part and make a difference by making sustainable travel choices. Go green next time you hit the road in one of our Explore by GemLife motorhomes.
With almost eight million square kilometres of wilderness to explore in Australia, there is no better place to enjoy nature in its truest form. Many eco-certified operators are passionate about conserving and protecting Australia’s unique biodiversity and fragile environments.
From national parks and bushlands right through to the rural and urban landscapes we live in, there are so many places you could visit.
Choose destinations a little off the beaten track to help spread tourism throughout the state in which you are travelling and, where you can, shop and eat local to ensure you are giving back to the local community. As you drive around the country, you will come across charming roadside farm gates, clean-eating cafes and restaurants embracing a paddock-to-plate philosophy, so it is not hard to find ethically and sustainably sourced produce on your travels.
The Explore by GemLife motorhomes make for the perfect commute and accommodation as you voyage through the country while minimising your carbon footprint.
Solar panels: Stay charged up on your adventures with two rooftop 160-watt solar panels which harness the power of the sun to generate electricity in the motorhome, reducing dependence on non-renewable energy sources and minimising harmful emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Superior insulation & fuel economy: The motorhome is made of a vacuum-bonded quad-layer wall construction technology providing superior thermal insulation. This means reduced power use as well as making it lightweight and durable for easy handling and fuel economy.
Air quality: To ensure environmental protection, every Explore motorhome is fitted with a Selective Catalytic Reduction pollutant reduction system, which uses Adblue – a diesel exhaust fluid which reduces harmful gases being released into the atmosphere.
Large grey water tank: The Explore by GemLife motorhomes’ inbuilt grey water tanks have a massive 125 litre capacity to collect and store wastewater from the motorhomes’ sinks, showers, and washing machines instead of allowing it to trickle down and damage plant life and animal life while on the road.
Gastronomy is becoming a main attraction feature in the definition of tourist destination competitiveness and belongs more and more to the kind of cultural items that a tourist searches for in the local area visited. This paper takes an approach to gastronomy as a key factor in the development (and consolidation) of a tourist destination.
To achieve this goal, we first present a review of the existing scientific literature