BRICS leaders agree on joint development bank

The BRICS group of emerging economies has hammered out a deal to establish an infrastructure bank that will rival the Western-dominated World Bank.Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met Wednesday, on the second day of the fifth BRICS summit in the South African city of Durban.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/27/295436/brics-nations-draw-up-joint-bank-deal/

Plotting the next Silicon Valley -- you'll never guess where- ECUADOR

Plotting the next Silicon Valley -- you'll never guess where

special report Crave globe-trotter Eric Mack kicks off an exclusive four-part series on the unlikely Latin American spot hoping to transform itself into a new hub for science, technology, and innovation.http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57575554-1/plotting-the-next-silicon-valley-youll-never-guess-where/

by Eric Mack

March 26, 2013 9:00 AM PDT

Ecuador Auctions Off Amazon to Chinese Oil Firms

By Jonathan Kaiman, Guardian UK

28 March 13

cuador plans to auction off more than three million hectares of pristine Amazonian rainforest to Chinese oil companies, angering indigenous groups and underlining the global environmental toll of China's insatiable thirst for energy.http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/329-126/16682-ecuador-auctions-off-amazon-to-chinese-oil-firms

Ecuador GPS Map - GPSTravelMaps.com

This GPS map will give you turn by turn directions to your destination using a POI (point of interest), city point and/or latitude and longitude with the ability to preplan driving destinations before getting into your car.  

The easy to follow instructions allow you to download and install the map into Garmin BaseCamp desktop software and transfer it to your Garmin GPS in minutes.   Compatible with ALL Garmin GPS units.   This is the most comprehensive GPS map available at such an affordable price! Includes the Galapagos Islands.
Latest Update: March 2013 v1.8

Statistics of the map:

•  38,000+ kilometers of Highways, Major Roads and Residential Streets with turn-by-turn, voice guided directions.

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•  All rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, beaches, volcanos, mountain summits, golf courses, ferry's, parks, cemeteries, etc.

Ecuador GPS Map - GPSTravelMaps.com

Mindo Flood 23 MARCH...

Mindo Flood

23 Mar This is a rapid post to be updated later.
On March 21 we journeyed to Mindo, Ecuador in the “Cloud Forest” on the western slopes of the Andes about two hours west of Quito.  We had a great time partaking of Mindo’s many attractions, including bird watching, forest canopy cable car ride, zip-lining and the local faire (more on that in a following post).
http://ecuadorlifeandculture.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/mindo-flood/#respond

AHHH CUENCA!!: A Trip with Granny's Cousins - Part 1

AHHH CUENCA!!: A Trip with Granny's Cousins - Part 1: My friend ‘Granny’ from Nashville …oops, sorry….Nashvull, Tennessee had family coming to Ecuador for the first time.  Mahmaw, her 2 nd ...

Ecuador orders small bank to suspend operations

QUITO, March 18 | Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:01pm EDT

(Reuters) - Ecuador's banking regulator on Monday ordered one of the smallest banks in the Andean country to suspend operations due to solvency and liquidity problems.
The Territorial Bank currently has assets worth $170 million. Ecuador's banking system had total assets worth nearly $28 billion by the end of 2012. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/19/ecuador-bank-idUSL1N0CAFQQ20130319