Statement from Kiva’s web site:

We’ve funded EVERY business on the site!! Your loans are now on their way to the developing world. Those of you who have been with us for a while probably know that this has something to do with the recent glowing press we’ve received and the record traffic that has […]

A huge underground lake has been found in Sudan’s Darfur region, scientists say, which they believe could help end the conflict in the arid region.
Some 1,000 wells will be drilled in the region, with the agreement of Sudan’s government, the Boston University researchers say.
Full Story: BBC News.
(via Ethan Zuckerman).
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Sudan on Monday accepted the deployment of U.N. attack helicopters and 3,000 peacekeepers in Darfur, the first time it has allowed a significant injection of U.N. forces to help beleaguered African troops in the war-torn region.
The deal appeared to be a major step forward in painstaking negotiations to bring an effective peacekeeping force to Darfur, […]

In a significant change, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday that it would review its investments to determine whether its holdings were socially responsible.
In addition to what it called a continuing review of “our approach to investments,” the foundation said on its website, “we will review other strategies that can fulfill a social […]

Palm and pumpkin seed oil could soon be generating electricity to help power mobile phone networks across Africa under a plan to replace fossil fuels with sustainable biofuels made from crops grown by local farmers.
Full Story: MSNBC.
(via Great News Network).
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More than 500 children in Thailand are expected to receive the machines in October and November for quality testing and debugging.
The One Laptop Per Child program, which began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab and now is a separate nonprofit organization, hopes to deploy 5 million to 7 million machines in Thailand, Nigeria, […]

The AIDS infection rate among pregnant women in South Africa stayed at about 30 percent last year, according to a government report Friday that said the infection rate was stabilizing.
Full Story: Forbes.
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“Brace yourself,” Buffett warned with a grin. He then described a momentous change in his thinking. Within months, he said, he would begin to give away his Berkshire Hathaway fortune, then and now worth well over $40 billion.
This news was indeed stunning. Buffett, 75, has for decades said his wealth would go […]

San Francisco, eager to put its own stamp on the health care debate, unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday that would make it the first city in the nation to provide every uninsured resident with access to medical services.
When rolled out next year, the city’s 82,000 uninsured residents would become eligible for a wide array of […]

The senate has passed a much saner immigration bill than the house. It remains to be seen what will happen with either bill from here. Both could wind up as dead legislation. But I’m happy the new bill passed without the legislation making illegal immigrants and those that aid them into felons.
Full Story: AP […]