It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Mr. Joseph K. Grieboski, Head of the Global Bank North American Representative Office, on February 24th at his home in Alexandria, VA.

Fires blazing around Australia are responsible for at least 28 deaths and destruction of at least 5,900 buildings, including approximately 2,683 homes. As of January 12, at least 18.6 million acres of Australia have burned in one of the country’s worst fire seasons on record. That’s an area larger than West Virginia or Denmark, and more than eight times the area that burned in California in 2018, the state’s most destructive year for wildfires.