(December 17, 2003) By arranging a Paris Club debt restructuring James Baker is going against the will of Iraqis, who are demanding a fair arbitration tribunal on Saddam’s odious debt.
World Bank inflated costs of Karuma hydropower
(December 16, 2003) Canadian consulting firm Acres International prepared a secret report the World Bank relied on to select which Ugandan hydro project (Karuma/Bujagali) to bankroll.
Watchdogs afraid of war crimes show trial
(December 16, 2003) Saddam Hussein will face war crimes charges in a special Iraqi court, despite international concerns that it will be a show trial leading to a death sentence.
Trial venue may be tug-of-war
(December 15, 2003) An international row over where Saddam Hussein should face justice began yesterday, with Iraq’s U.S.-backed leaders vowing to try him and human rights groups saying the former dictator will not get a fair trial in an Iraqi court.
Schneider Electric to stand trial in bribery case
(December 13, 2003) A Lesotho High Court judge in his ruling this week, accused Schneider of spinning in France "an intricate web of corporate manipulation with its yarn reaching over to the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Rebuilding policy is conflicted
(December 12, 2003) Iraqis cannot effectively rebuild their country and rejoin the global community unless they can get out from underneath their government’s staggering debt. It, and the war reparations, need to be forgiven.
Baker visiting 5 allies seeking Iraq debt relief
(December 11, 2003) Former Secretary of State James A. Baker will visit Russia, Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany next week in an effort to persuade those countries to forgive Iraq’s debts.
Bush asks excluded nations to forgive Iraq’s debt
(December 11, 2003) President Bush found himself in the awkward position of calling on the leaders of France, Germany and Russia to forgive Iraq’s debts, just a day after the Pentagon excluded those countries from $18 billion in U.S.-financed Iraqi reconstruction projects.
Russia won’t write off $8 bn Iraq debt
(December 10, 2003) Russia today maintained a sturdy silence on the reported decision by the United States barring its companies from competing for contracts to rebuild Iraq but said it will not write off the eight billion US dollars debt owed by Baghdad.
Allies angered at exclusion from bidding
(December 10, 2003) Countries barred by the Pentagon from bidding for $18.6 billion worth of prime reconstruction contracts in Iraq, noted the move was all the more astonishing given recent appeals by Washington for help in postwar Iraq.
Pentagon bars three nations from Iraq bids
(December 10, 2003) The Pentagon has barred French, German and Russian companies from competing for $18.6 billion in contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq, saying it was acting to protect "the essential security interests of the United States.
Treasury plans bailout for £9bn of export bad debts
(December 10, 2003) The Treasury is drawing up a face-saving plan to rescue the Export Credit Guarantees Department, after the government agency, which insures British exporters, ran up bad debts of £9 billion
Former Iraqi official says Hussein stashed tens of billions abroad
(December 8, 2003) A former Iraqi minister said Saddam Hussein began depositing 5 percent of Iraq’s oil revenues in overseas accounts in 1972, and has likely accumulated tens of billions of dollars outside Iraq.
Finance minister says Iraq will demand assets from Syria
(December 8, 2003) Finance Minister Kamil al-Kaylani has said that Iraq will soon demand that Syria turn over an estimated $3 billion in Iraqi cash assets held in its banks on behalf of the former Hussein regime.
Seaport study in stormy seas
(December 7, 2003) A feasibility study by a Canadian company for an international seaport in Hambantota has been deemed un-bankable by a steering committee of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
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