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Anti-poverty activists welcome G20 deal but demand action

by Staff Writers
London (AFP) April 2, 2009
Advocates for the poor welcomed world leaders' moves to shore up the global economy Thursday but said much more needed to be done to shield needy countries bearing the brunt of the crisis.

World leaders meeting in London agreed to a raft of measures to combat the global financial downturn, noting they had already earmarked a cumulative five trillion dollars for economic stimulus by the end of 2010.

The measures would see the sale of gold reserves to help poor countries, a new push to pass free trade rules, major reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, secretive tax havens named and shamed, and new rules on corporate pay.

"This G20 summit delivers a vital pick-me-up for poor countries struggling to survive the economic crisis but much more is needed to ensure their long-term recovery," said Oxfam spokesman Duncan Green.

"We must ensure that poor countries get their fair share -- that Uganda benefits as well as Ukraine."

Poverty campaigner Bob Geldof also offered a mixed reaction, noting the world's poor "have finally been brought in from the margins to the centre of the decision-making process" as the summit united rich and developing nations.

But, he added: "A key question the African delegation is asking is whether this will be real new money for their countries, and will it be grants or expensive loans?

"In this perhaps obscure but critical difference lies the economic health of the continent of Africa and of its people and by extension our own," he said.

Greenpeace said the G20 had missed a chance to secure lasting environmental improvements.

"Long-term economic recovery is dependent on tackling climate change," said Greenpeace UK's executive director John Sauven.

"A full-blown climate crisis raises the prospect of mass migration, mass starvation and mass extinctions. It will make poverty permanent in the developing world and strangle growth in the developed."

Save the Children said the summit offered a "ray of hope" for the world's poorest children but stressed that the G20 pledges meant nothing without action.

"Poorer nations have been hit harder than anyone else in this financial meltdown," said their campaigns director Adrian Lovett.

"We are in the middle of an exceptional crisis and exceptional action is needed to deal with it."

ActionAid said the summit outcome was an unprecedented boost for poor countries and would help them weather the storm.

However, "these promises must be kept and poor countries must be given an equal say in the institutions that now hold the world's chequebook," said head of policy Claire Melamed.

The British Red Cross's acting international director David Peppiatt welcomed support for developing countries, but said more was needed to address imminent humanitarian concerns.

"Alongside the financial stimuli we must make sure those who are already in desperate humanitarian need are not simply abandoned to their fate while the world waits for its economies to recover," he said.

Glen Tarman, chairman of Put People First, said: "The G20 appears to have made progress on some critical issues but there are also missed opportunities, especially on building a green economy, and causes for real concern in other areas."

Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International welcomed the G20's pledge to open up the global financial and economic system to greater scrutiny and provide a stimulus that also extends to the developing world.

"In the long term, however, the G20's initial steps towards transparency must be taken beyond the corridors of power and properly implemented, with input from civil society," TI chief Huguette Labelle said.

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Senators press US to take fewer foreign IT workers
Washington (AFP) April 1, 2009
The United States began taking visa applications Wednesday for highly skilled foreigners, with lawmakers pressing to close the door to some of the long-coveted workers amid the recession.







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