they say geo politics is a lot like a schoolyard and while obama snubbing a meeting with the president of russia to in theory punish him for the stone incident sounds kind of amateur that is the kind of stuff the girl you did when you're sixteen would do cancel a date just to show you how much your feelings are hurt let's not mistake this canceled meeting with cutting off diplomatic relations which is the total rejection of any form of discussion with another country which really isn't a bold and possibly dangerous but a call message but obama did was more like a minor annoyance he knows that he will talk to putin again in the near future i mean how are they not going to talk at the next g. eight summit what is he just going to have to hide behind merkel the whole time and hope it works out or ducked behind the shrimp cocktail whatever here's a russian accent one could argue that to appease republicans he had to do something

to look strong after the stone debacle but this grandstanding just comes across as silly passing something like a new jackson vet a commandment yeah that is how you could shows people that you're really mad even if your anger is irrational because stone pretty much did the right thing but that's just my opinion.

in the beginning of two thousand and thirteen the capital of ghana was named africa's fastest growing city. proof of this weathered dozens of cranes dotting the horizon satisfying the demand for new modern offices for both local companies and banks and multinationals. expensive cars roam the streets. shiny moles filling the consumer dreams of the

capital's affluent people. ghana's economy is thriving. the country is among the world's fastest growing economies and is africa's number one and growth rates. for the i.m.f. ghana is a success story. successful. rule of the m.f. is really to advise a macro police she's so we we do not we do not construct bridges and develop infrastructure but in time of my quest ability clearly over the last. few years have done quite well in terms of generating an environment of

macroeconomic stability which is necessary to have investment and growth and job creation. current economic success could not have been accomplished without the newly received loans the last loan agreement between ghana. was in two thousand and nine for the sum of six hundred two million dollars at that time the country experienced some fiscal slippage is and depletion of its international reserves which was a combination of increased public spending but also. the side effect of the global financial crisis so we used the reduction of the reserve of the central bank to increase of the deficit there was a need to. provide some financing. to crises and had to authorities. to make balances. dept exploded to a new record high reaching fourteen point six billion dollars we talk about credit

facilities as if. it doesn't have to be paid back but our children and grandchildren will have to pay his debt and i think it's almost like selling the family silver. you can get it back. finance led economic management has been they. and their religion of african rulers and. so forth and every so-called group is seen as a success which therefore should feed that process even. one of the fastest growing economies not just in africa but in the world last year. one of the effects of that is that you would think that if economies growing. independent space. and resources to invest in the things that it needs to know about its economy and transform the conditions of its people i mean that it was what any

logical thinking would be however. what is happening. in. the. room. after finishing her chores in the morning comfortable cutty prepares her grandchildren for school she is a primary school teacher at paga a small agricultural community in northeastern ghana.

was. this is the primary school every tree is a classroom there are two hundred ninety one children studying here while. many of them have to walk at least five kilometers to get here was a little was there. was. the second largest gold producer in africa cannot provide classrooms to sauza as of children. in ghana four thousand schools have no

facilities the lessons like here take place under the trees. we do house structure. we are under three s. and because of that there is no in the effective teaching and leno. especially when ever it is threatening to rain we have to run home and wended the cheese sharing the same problem there wouldn't be the dead snow or the not being effective teaching and then in the course of the sun when it is hawt. that you reckon i'll feel comfortable to lead and to check on will also feel comfortable to teach. me. no toilets no place materials. and other infrastructure. that is that the problems we're facing to school and i'm not a problem is what

a problem. we don't have what. so anomalous about three kilometers or four clintons for the top will drink the water and when it's voted to school there are no reasonable quentin is for us to slaughter. because of what they did a government who always complained and promised but nothing has been the. one of the i.m.f. conditions to sign the loan agreement of two thousand and nine was a cut in public sector spending ghana's education system has been affected dramatically. well. in order for the government to reach its goals for deficit reduction it decided to cut almost thirty one million euro from the education sector. the building of new classrooms and facilities would have to wait.

the government's absence is covered by the community members who raise money in order to build classrooms in any way they can. miss comfort was a leader of this afeard and invested all her savings. really. i. was more like oh my god i have decided to mobilize. to help me with some money to put up a classroom i've used my own money in addition to this current amount that was contributed by the community members to put up one classroom block who was who i was. and now some of the.

linen in that one classroom and the other classes sit in under trees. yet. so whenever it is raining even if it is threaten to rain would dismiss the. idea of years forms indeed. and then when it is more i'm much this nor should. we all get that one classroom we can use in lots and i thank you for. the recruitment freeze in the public sector another one of the i.m.f. stipulations for signing the loan agreement had an instant impact on the quality of ghana's education system. according to the country's education department in order to cover the teacher shortage alone in primary schools thirty three thousand one hundred eighty five

teachers are needed this is something that will never be approved but. you're. here in northern ghana there is one trains teacher like comfort for every one hundred seventy. five students. i know you look at you you. know and again the inhabitants try to do whatever they can on their own they can teaching positions are covered by parents or volunteers. that are. here. while. we have my own interesting problem because of the. status of the. war and they can't provide that cheating with nutritionist but.

when the look on plane. and there is that aggie. that's. a many. and a fund that i've been saul's for. it's not enough to cover all disks they did to disclose that on the trees so that the good in some but redoing for me it was off my at all tonight and the owner has promised to do it but definitely it come up to help us. live. live. live. if you leave the friggin economic up and downs in the final months

day belong to the deal and the rest that life is going be taking the lead it briefly cultivate. their lives. mission and free credit take three months for charges free. lunch three. free. free. download free blog plug in video for your media project a free medio dog party dot com. to. play. play

guitar sometimes you see a story and it seems so for like sleep you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it. you realize that everything is ok. welcome to the big picture a . a. a a. a a a a a a. a a.

when i return home from school i read a little and then go to the river to get water then i go to the forest to gather wood and then i cook. or i have a lot of chores and can't study during the day i usually study at night. i study with a flashlight because the community has no electricity. it's difficult studying that way. sometimes someone needs a flashlight and i have to wait until they finish. and that makes it difficult for me to study. which i wish we had electricity's so i could study

comfortably. in the future i want to become a useful person. i want to become a nurse. so . citizens of the new state of god gather all the celebration marking their day of freedom from colonialism what was once the gold coast of british colony now becomes an independent commonwealth vice president and mrs nixon represent the united states at the three day festivities and native

dances and games mark an event of historic importance since gonna becomes the first big roll colony in africa again its freedom. in one thousand nine hundred fifty seven ghana gained its independence from the english ever since there has been a love hate relationship with the i.m.f. . from one thousand nine hundred sixty six five governments have received loans power has changed hands many times after so many coups. the first to approach the i.m.f. in one thousand nine hundred sixty five was ghana's first president and independence leader. as a marxist he was quick to reject the funds conditions he was overthrown a year later.

but in many countries the red primate battle plan has prayer. and drama rama and brandon. a big old ruler about a country. the national liberation council government that came to power signed the loan agreement with the i.m.f. and accepted the conditions. the economy made a spectacular rebound and at the same time product prices increased. but kick our exports did not yield the expected revenue in one thousand nine hundred eighty one after the fun's recommendation the currency was devalued by forty six point eight percent there was a wage freeze and taxes were increased. a year later general

a chum pong for through the government. the governmental general election. unilaterally. decided not to be a debt that's gonna government to that and if it was a little over ninety million dollars and. the general at the point took the position that it was something we couldn't see and we pushed for self-reliance. that was the message that he was giving to ghana and i think he made an impact unfortunately the price of oil hikes soon after that pushed doesn't back into economic decline and we ended up going back to the i.m.f. for a loan that was after the coup that threw

a chump amount and it's an interesting paradigm that seems to be. an almost on holy think too good a time as. an economic downturns and then a falling back on the i.m.f. as almost as a savior. drop africa in the one nine hundred ninety eight you want you we had what you call i.m.f. rats which is the price of food going up as well as before and that kind of is the ability yes it has to be the backdrop to a lot of the. many more reasons of course but the critical reason has been that the

how to secure a growth model which you know unifies the my joy section of the ruling class number one. which which reduces deflates the political expectation of the population number two. is also to tell people that your political expectations about what you can get on a realistic you can get free education you can get public housing you can get a good patient from the public sector you have to go out in the market and fight for yourself. and if you look at our history. that the stratagems have been the scene it's about. devaluing the cd it's about. fiscal. restrictions it's about restricting the government's wage bill it's about privatization or divest investing in government

factories these are the same things that they do time and again and i do wonder. whether if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and the country doesn't move out of poverty if there isn't a need to rethink what you do well let me maybe quantify what you said and clarified. actually over the last decade what we've seen in africa and ships are in africa. is extremely encouraging in terms of microcosmic policies we can say that over the last decade micro policies in most of sub-saharan africa has improved. substantially with an emphasis on my quest ability and on generating what we could buy for us.

i grew culture is one of ghana's most productive sectors. here in the north however it is the only way to survive. glenn doesn't give much. and we use the same old varieties our grandfathers did on. them they don't really give a good harvest. women who brought you with only so many jewels come to help us. number but

no government official has ever come to visit us. yeah. only the n.g.o.s teach us how to improve our improve our methods. doesn't come to teach us. oh and the ministry of agriculture used to provide us with fertilizer but now they have stopped. moving well now they never visit us like they used to. people really i don't understand why the government isn't helping us. get the

welcome that. this one that food sufficiency has its ups and downs. there are times of abundance and times when there isn't enough food for the community. the periods of hunger along that is when the food prices hit the roof. that is one mil it costs ten cd for euro this is a time of great hunger. the government cutbacks would mean for example in the case of a culture that all kinds of subsidies are essential extension services they all

come and all those things fit everything becomes a market price a small form a kind of buy those things they can produce as well so most of the form is actually i really hope it turns out. it's some of the number i'm not able to keep would have to do it because i need to look in the river then. feed into a structure to support and so if waste and then to support the children in that occasion. ok. i do have a crock it while going to take care all of virginia it's a little while in the middle of the chesapeake bay on the virginia. county. page you're all in the chesapeake bay probably one of the best batteries in the phone for a. picture of time and your island before the channel was. oh

here. way up there. as you go all. right here are some of the headstones from the graves that for here this is a fruit that's that's what we don't want happen to tangier all and we want to get some protection and make sure that we don't go into the chesapeake bay like others did in other communities. right from the scene. of. the first strike. and i think that you're. on our reporters twitter. and instagram. to be in the know what's on.

her head.

good luck. to building a new. mission to teach me. this is why you should. only. stories others refuse to. face is changing the world. picture. from around the globe. to.

the week's top stories right here. simply enflame. britain's guardian newspaper reveals it was pressured by. one who say no to the government. they have the ability to take everything. he was forced to.