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Palestinian women establish family projects to fight unemployment

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As the war-torn and besieged Gaza Strip has long been plagued by high unemployment rate, many Palestinian women there have to make a living by launching family projects.

As the Gaza Strip has long been under the threat of high unemployment rate, many Palestinian women there have to rely on their own wits to make a living.

Ahlam and Marwa Khadra are a pair of sisters from Gaza, and they established their own cafe, named the “Station Cafe,” in the area they live so as to help their husbands raise the family.

“Finding a job in Gaza is difficult, especially for women who are committed to raising children and meeting their daily necessities. And this is what prompted us to think of opening our own business,” Ahlam told Xinhua.

The 37-year-old mother of four said she worked for 15 years in project management and coordination, which helped her understand the overall situation in Gaza and what kinds of jobs would be successful.

“I found that food and beverage projects are among the successful ones. And this encouraged my sister and me to open a cafe,” the woman explained.

However, they soon realized it was easier said than done, as both of them have been suffering from poverty. They did not have money to start their new project, but that did not stop them from trying their luck.

They participated in a competition organized by the Palestine Employment Fund and won a “zero loan,” meaning the loan would not be repaid until revenues are generated from the project.

“During the activity, a series of management and marketing courses were given. As a result, we were granted the loan and started implementing our project,” Marwa Khadra told Xinhua.

“The project was a dream, especially in light of the difficult conditions that the Gaza Strip is going through, and we started implementing the dream on the ground with the simplest capabilities,” the 39-year-old mother of five said.

Palestinian woman Marwa Khadra prepares coffees for customers at her own cafe “Station Cafe” in Gaza City, on Sept. 27, 2021. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

She added that she and her sister took many courses to develop their ability to prepare various types of coffee and Arabic and Western sweets, including cookies, mini cheese, Saudi coffee dates, brownies, hot chocolate, and ice mousse mocha mojito and lotus balls.

“We are so happy that we’ve finally found our way to earn money to keep our families afloat after many years of suffering from poverty,” the sisters said as they flashed smiles, adding that they earn about 50 U.S. dollars a day.

Nisreen, Aya and Horeya al-Ghoul are also sisters from the al-Shatea refugee camp who established a home project to create their own job opportunities as they failed to find jobs related to their academic background.

Al-Ghoul sisters turned their home kitchen into a small factory to produce sweets and pastries.

Nisreen al-Ghoul, who holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science and education technology, told Xinhua that they came up with the project after they passed employment tests, succeeded, conducted interviews, worked according to the temporary contract system and then found themselves sitting at home, and unemployed.

Palestinian woman Ahlam Khadra works at her own cafe “Station Cafe” in Gaza City, on Sept. 27, 2021. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

“I had the ambition to create my own profession that would reflect my personality and make me feel my presence. So I proposed the idea to my sister Aya, whose circumstances were similar to mine,” the 33-year-old woman said.

The three sisters relied on social media to promote their products by posting photos and videos through the “Caramel Cake” page on Facebook and Instagram.

They aspire to develop their project, increase the workforce after improving their economic conditions, boost the demand for their products, and move from the stage of promoting their products on social media networks to the ground.

The Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, has been put under a tight Israeli blockade since the Hamas takeover of the coastal enclave in 2007.

According to a report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip reached 52 percent in 2020. In addition, 83 percent of the population lives in poverty.

The average daily income per capita is 2 U.S. dollars, according to the Gaza-based Popular Committee against the Israeli siege.

Palestinian woman Hanan Hamad, 55, makes candy apples in her home in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, on Sept. 14, 2021. The business is the only source of income for her 14-member family. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

As a result, a high percentage of Palestinian husbands cannot provide for the basic needs of their families, especially those who work on a monthly contract or day-to-day basis.

This is the reason that pushed women to take matters into their own hands.

Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based human rights activist, told Xinhua that many other women in Gaza are trying to establish their own small projects to help their husbands with their daily expenses.

Sometimes, he says, the women are lucky as they have enjoyed the support and care of civil and governmental institutions.

“Despite many funding programs aiming to support women financially, the participation rate of women in the labor market in the strip does not exceed 20 percent, which is one of the lowest rates in the world,” Mazen al-Ejla, a Gaza-based economist, told Xinhua.

Al-Ejla said that the unemployment rate is higher among women by more than 15 percent compared to men.

GAZA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua)

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Asia remains attractive destination for global investment

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BOAO, Hainan, March 27 (Xinhua) — Asia remains a dynamic and attractive destination for global investment, said attendees at a sideline forum of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which convenes its 2024 annual conference in Boao, a resort town in southern China’s Hainan Province.

According to the forum’s Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress flagship report, Asian economies demonstrated strong resilience in investment activities in 2022. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Asia-Pacific economies amounted to 809.4 billion U.S. dollars, growing by 6.76 percent over the previous year and accounting for 62 percent of international FDI inflows.

Asia has been a significant beneficiary of FDI, said Shamshad Akhtar, Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs of Pakistan, while noting the role of FDI in Asia’s development at the sub-forum with a theme of “Investing the Future of Asia.”

It is important to recognize that Asia, particularly emerging markets, is now on its own development momentum. Asia have become the world’s manufacturing and trade hub supported by foreign capital and investments, she noted.

In 2022, Asian economies attracted a total of 8.8 trillion U.S. dollars in portfolio investment, and China’s stock of portfolio investment surpassed 1 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time, said the report.

Speaking at the forum, Charles Dallara, a member of the Board of Directors of Partners Group, said foreign investments are supporting the global market developments and Asia is really a dynamic and attractive location for investments, especially FDI.

Among Asian economies, China is a very attractive destination for FDI, he said, adding that at the same time, a large amount of capital from China has flowed to other countries and many Chinese businesses and enterprises are investing in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Officials and experts also voiced opinions on how to boost investor confidence, improve the investment environment, and enhance investment destinations’ attractiveness in Asia.

Geopolitical influence, rule of law, market potential, industrial system, labor forces, market players, and policy support are factors that affect the inflow of FDI, said Xu Zhibin, deputy administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Governments also play an important role in attracting global capital, said Shimizu Tokiko, assistant governor of the Bank of Japan, adding that Asian countries have resilient economy and governments should have consistent policy arrangements and provide a clear map on its own development for investors.

According to the report, the Asian economy is expected to grow by around 4.5 percent in 2024, surpassing that of 2023, and continue to be the largest contributor to global economic growth.

With a founding purpose to promote economic integration in Asia, the mission of the BFA is to pool positive energy for the development of Asia and the world. The BFA annual conference 2024 runs from March 26 to 29.

Source(s): Xinhua

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Global business leaders: China will continue to be a key contributor to global economic growth

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Global business leaders praised China’s decision to pursue high-quality development and expressed confidence in China’s economic potential, saying China will continue to be a key contributor to global economic growth.

They made the remarks at the China Development Forum 2024 in Beijing on Sunday, during which international scholars, entrepreneurs, government officials and representatives from international organizations discussed key issues concerning the development of China and the world.

In her speech, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that China is transforming its economy from high rates to high quality of growth and that high-quality development ultimately depends on reforms.

She projects over 3 percent growth for 2024 and the following year for the global economy and urged deep structural reforms for all countries to enhance the conditions for entrepreneurship, innovation and economic performance as the world is facing low productivity, high debt levels and geopolitical tensions.

The IMF head called for China to implement “a comprehensive package of pro-market reforms,” saying China could grow considerably faster with reforms starting with sound macroeconomic fundamentals, and the additional growth would add $3.5 trillion to the Chinese economy.

World Bank President Ajay Banga also mentioned the global challenges, saying they intensified global inequality. He noted that developing countries faced an “unimaginable” gap with 1.1 billion young people expected to enter the workforce in the next decade while the expected jobs being created would only be 325 million. However, he also cautioned that it’s just a prediction, not an actual destiny, adding that China’s “remarkable journey” in the past five decades was a testament to what is possible.

Like Georgieva, Banga also emphasized the importance of reforms. He said that since China’s reform and opening up in 1978, it has lifted 770 million rural residents out of poverty, and due to reform, China fundamentally changed its development trajectory, with more than 8 million jobs created every year for over three decades, sharply reducing global poverty from 44 percent to 9 percent. Once a major World Bank borrower, China is now one of the bank’s biggest donors, Banga added.

The IMF head presented opportunities to boost productivity and improve living standards citing digital and green transformations. She acknowledged China’s leading position in artificial intelligence, saying China’s well-developed digital infrastructure provides a head start.

In terms of advancing the green economy, she described China as a global leader in deploying renewable energy with enormous potential, adding that China was making rapid progress in green mobility.

She also highlighted China’s contributions to assist the IMF in providing affordable long-term financing to low-income countries and states undertaking reforms to reduce risks to prospective balance of payments stability, including those related to climate change and pandemic preparedness, and capacity-development initiatives.

“China’s remarkable development success has delivered tremendous benefits to hundreds of millions of people,” she said and expressed her confidence that China and the world can tackle the current challenges and create a more prosperous future for all through cooperation.

Apple’s Tim Cook also attended Sunday’s forum. The CEO of the U.S.’ largest smartphone empire was in Shanghai to open a new Apple store this week, and he met with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Friday.

“I think China is really opening up, and I’m so happy to be here,” Cook told a reporter from CGTN at the forum on Sunday.

He also told the China Media Group that Apple would keep increasing its investment in research and development in China, adding that Apple’s flagship mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, would hit shelves in China by the end of this year.

Source(s): CGTN

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BOC announces sale of Drift Thelu Veliga

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Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has announced the sale of leasehold rights of Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat.

According to the bank, the Civil Court has extended BOC the right and permission to sell the Head Lease rights of the property, as per the court’s case number 2096-CVC-2023 on March 14th, 2024.

The resort is owned by Theluveliga Retreat Private Limited, a private limited liability company, which has been mortgaged as a security at the bank to recover the dues of the Term Loan Facility obtained by Castaway Maldives Private Limited.

The bank earlier on March 21st announced that the Head Lease rights of the 5-star property is South Ari Atoll is now available for interested buyers.

BOC further added that the current Headlease period expires on April 2064, which can be extended by the successful bidder for another 49 years according to the Maldives Tourism Act.

According to the bank, the bid reserve price is fixed at MVR 21.14 million.

Interested bidders are invited to submit their proposals to acquire the leasehold rights of the property by furnishing a non-refundable deposit of USD 2,000 to obtain the tender applications and documents from BOC.

To participate in the bid, bidders are required to deposit USD 25,000 at the time of bid application submission. BOC demands the money be deposited by cash, transfer, or DD.

The bank further said that in the event of more than one successful bidder with the same prices, BOC will request the bidders for spot bids which is subjected to a minimum increment of USD 50,000.

The final hour for bid application submission to acquire the leasehold rights is 14:00hrs on April 23rd, 2024.

The 30-villa holiday retreat debuted in October 2015.

Source(s): sun.mv

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