(January 6, 2005) While debt forgiveness has a place in international aid, such a very general measure is not the appropriate response to the very specific needs created by the Asian tsunami: comment.
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Move to freeze debt for tsunami countries
(January 6, 2005) The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Thursday came out in favour of a debt moratorium for the countries worst hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Brown proposes tsunami debt moratorium
(January 6, 2005)Gordon Brown has reiterated his call for a new form of Marshall plan to deliver “a once in a generation opportunity” to eliminate global poverty.
Balancing aid with needs
(January 6, 2005) Tsunami funds could mean less elsewhere.
Push to block Brazil dam project
(January 5, 2005) Environmental groups are hoping to use the Brazilian legal system to prevent the destruction of a highly-endangered remnant of the Atlantic forest threatened by a hydroelectric dam project.
Pinochet ruled fit for trial
(January 5, 2005) Chilean top court contradicts its 2002 decision that the former dictator could not be tried due to dementia.
Q&A: The weight of debt
(January 5, 2005) UK Chancellor Gordon Brown wants the world’s richest nations to freeze foreign debt repayments for countries hit by the Asian tsunami disaster. The move would allow such countries to focus money on reconstruction.
Debt freeze plan ‘welcome but inadequate’
(January 5, 2005) The Jubilee Debt Campaign and the World Development Movement called for debt to be cancelled as “the most effective way to fund the long-term alleviation of poverty, not just as a response to a disaster”.
Debt freeze may be possible for tsunami relief
(January 5, 2005) The Paris Club, a 19-member private creditor that offers debt relief, have begun deliberating whether or not to offer a debt moratorium to the countries affected by the disaster.
World Bank chief to exit with a mixed legacy
(January 4, 2005) World Bank President James Wolfensohn says he will not seek a third term at the helm of one of the world’s most important financial institutions, as Bank watchers say he is leaving a mixed legacy marred by a series of failures and disappointments for the world’s fight against poverty.
Brown: Debts should be frozen for tsunami-hit countries
(January 4, 2005) Chancellor Gordon Brown suggested that there is little point in the west spending millions on aid while at the same time continuing to receive debt repayments.
Alert system a priority: experts
(January 4, 2005) Mainland environmentalists have launched a petition urging the government to fast-track the establishment of an earthquake warning system in the southwest.
Manipulating the Mekong
(December 30, 2004) China’s push to harness storied river’s power puts it at odds with nations downstream.
Saddam ‘spills the beans’ on hidden millions
(December 30, 2004) The US-appointed council believes the former president accumulated as much as $40bn (£22.5bn) during his years in power, which he hid in accounts in Switzerland, Japan, Germany and other countries.
In the face of debt and disaster: long-lasting relief for the peoples of the South
(December 28, 2004) “In the face of this massive destruction, northern and international creditors should not continue to hold South peoples in bondage for debts that have in large part, only contributed to their impoverishment and deprivation.”


