People in Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark are the most fluent in English out of all the countries where English is not spoken natively, according to the English Proficiency Index.
How does your country rank in English proficiency?
Power Blackout in India Enters Second Day
- Electricity Transmission and Distribution in India: A report – World Energy Council
- 600 million without power in India after 3 power grids fail – Associated Press (USA Today)
- Power supply in eastern states hit by grid collapse (One India News)
- Blackout: India’s Mounting Power Crisis Enters Second Day – Palash R. Ghosh (International Business Times)
- India Endures World’s Largest Blackout – Sruthi Gottipati (New York Times)
Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Losses in India
India loses about a quarter of its electrical power output due to problems in its transmission and distribution infrastructure. It is one of the worst loss rates in the world, although it pales in comparison to Botswana, where almost 80% of power output is lost.
Electrical Outages Around the World
India is not the only country where businesses suffer significant losses due to power failures. Nepalese firms report that they lose an astonishing 27% of annual sales due to electrical outages. Check our Value lost due to electrical outages indicator for more details.
A Database of Every Bomb the US Has Ever Dropped
Fascinating look into the work of Lieutenant Colonel Jenns Robertson, who compiled a database of every single bomb the US has ever dropped.
U.S. Stimulus and GDP Growth for 2012
- Markets rally on strong expectations for euro, U.S. stimulus – John L. Caiazzo (Futures Magazine)
- U.S. treasuries continue to decline on growing stimulus speculation, U.S GDP growth slows to 1.5% in Q2 2012 – Global Macroeconomics Team (World Bank)
- US growth slows as consumers cut back on spending – Dominic Rushe (The Guardian)
The U.S. Drought and its Consequences on Food Prices
- Updated U.S. Drought Map (U.S. Drought Portal)
- Food inflation may rise to 3% to 4% in 2013 after drought – Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg (Futures Magazine)
- Farmers may gain amid drought with U.S.-backed insurance – Mark Drajem and Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg (Futures Magazine)
Global Corruption Barometer
Transparency International conducts an annual cross-country survey where they collect the general public’s view on, and experiences of, corruption. How did your country fare in the latest survey? Do you agree with the results?
Failed States Index
Drought, Corn and Food Prices – July 25, 2012
- 5 notable U.S. droughts – Alanna Byrne (Futures Magazine)
- As Drought Marches on, Can Chicagoans Help Save 10,000 Trees? Zak Stone (GOOD)
- US politicians must regulate finance to tackle the drought and food-price crisis – Raj Patel (The Guardian)
- Corn, grain prices push to record highs – Blair Fannin (Phys.org)