Han Rosling's new insights on poverty

An excellent overview from 2007 that I have just seen, courtesy of Adam McCarty, of the improvements in the human condition over the 20th century. Development happens.

who speaks for Africa?

I have admired Bob Geldof for a long time. Here, in answering why 2 white men should presume to speak for Africa, he offers a spot-on answer:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/video/who-speaks-for-africa/article1562615/

of volcanos and flowers

Sent to me by one of my students, this BBC posting provides a fascinating glimpse into the logic of the world food system, as thousands of farm workers in Kenya are laid off as a result of the eruption in Iceland:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8629079.stm

agribusiness in Brazil

An excellent video article from the Financial Times on agribusiness in Brazil, the superpower of the new agricultural countries.

http://www.ft.com/cms/1644d08e-f450-11dc-aaad-0000779fd2ac.html?_i_referralObject=16029375&fromSearch=n

a history of modern Sudan

An excellent piece of reportage to place this week's elections in Sudan in context has been produced by The Economist. Sudan is far too often thought of these days in the context of Darfur. Yet Sudan's history of conflict goes back 4 decades, and has seen at least 2 million deaths in addition to the 300000 dead in Darfur. More than 9 million Sudanese rely on food aid; and in the south of the country, an area twice the size of Italy, there are only 50 km of tarmac roads. We need to pay more attention to Africa's biggest country.

the whirled bank

I have just come across a defunct site that I think was put up by the 50 Years is Enough campaign. The site mirrors the registered site of the World Bank, but tells a very, very different story. Check it out:

http://www.whirledbank.org/

I particularly liked the interactive banking game that lets you drag your country ever deeper into a debt quagmire.

a short, recent history of Congo

More from The Economist's excellent videographics: in 5 minutes anyone can understand why the world's worst war since World War II in the Congo is ultimately about the control of resources for our cellphones.