(December 12, 2005) Some Nigerians refuse to celebrate the recent debt relief granted by the Paris Club cartel of creditors, and its accompanying conditions.
The West, quietly, is pillaging Iraq
(December 10, 2005) When Saddam Hussein grabbed power in 1979, Iraq had no long-term foreign debt. Cash reserves were $36 billion. Iraq had high literacy and public universities; it had extensive socialized health care. It was becoming a "first world" nation. Soon, however, this violent, cunning despot began squandering that wealth.
Volcker issue continues to rock Parliament
(December 8, 2005) The Opposition staged a noisy walkout in the Lok Sabha pressing their demand for the resignation of Sonia Gandhi as chairperson of National Advisory Council, alleging that Rs 528 crore from Iraqi oil deals had been stashed away in foreign banks.
Despotism and corruption in Africa: editorial
(December 8, 2005) Pakistan has not descended to the level where the face of our leaders, past or present, appear on our currency notes, yet many of our problems, political, social and economic, may be attributed to the persistence of a clan mentality: Razi Azmi
U.K. urged not to accept debt repayment
(December 7, 2005) G-7 will receive more than it will provide to poor countries in a decade.
Africa’s reform efforts
(December 7, 2005) There is “ample evidence of reasoning dementia on both sides of the African reformation spectrum” claims Charles Kwalonue Sunwabe, Jr., in his analysis of reform progress in Africa for The Perspective – a monthly newsmagazine covering Liberian issues.
Environmental awareness and anger grow in China
(December 4, 2005) Much of China watched in horror as work crews struggled to contain the recent benzene spill that polluted the northeastern Songhua River and disrupted drinking water supplies to about 12 million people in the region for more than a week.
Applying the Odious Debts Doctrine while Preserving Legitimate Lending
(December 1, 2005) Abstract: Odious debts are debts incurred by the government of a nation without either popular consent or a legitimate public purpose. While there is some debate within academic circles as to whether the successor government to a regime which incurred odious debts has the right to repudiate repayment, in the real world this is not an option currently granted legitimacy either by global capital markets or the legal systems of creditor states.
Applying the Odious Debts Doctrine while Preserving Legitimate Lending
(December 1, 2005) Odious debts are debts incurred by the government of a nation without either popular consent or a legitimate public purpose. While there is some debate within academic circles as to whether the successor government to a regime which incurred odious debts has the right to repudiate repayment, in the real world this is not an option currently granted legitimacy either by global capital markets or the legal systems of creditor states.
Zimbabwe’s ‘elections’
(November 30, 2005) Only about 15 percent of registered voters turned out for Saturday’s parliamentary "elections" in Zimbabwe. The vote was quiet and orderly, with Zimbabweans registering their opposition to their leader, Robert Mugabe, by staying home.
World Bank backs $100m Iraq loan
(November 30, 2005) The World Bank has approved a $100 million loan to Iraq to help reduce overcrowding in the country’s schools.
Risky times for hard news and views
(November 30, 2005) New York City: After this year’s International Press Freedom Awards dinner, a former reporter remarked to me the honorees’ inspiring stories made her "think about getting back into real journalism again," with her accent on "real." "Me, too," I responded spontaneously, feeling unusually humbled by the realities of many of our overseas colleagues.
Zimbabwe turnout hits a record low
(November 29, 2005) Only one in five eligible voters cast a ballot in Saturday’s elections in Zimbabwe, a record low turnout that opposition leaders and political analysts called a sign that the nation has lost faith in the ballot box as a means to battle the harsh rule of President Robert Mugabe.
US labels Zimbabwe Senate election a ‘nonevent’
(November 29, 2005) In a sign of growing U.S. animosity toward Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, a senior U.S. official dismissed as “a nonevent” last weekend’s Senate poll victory by the ruling party in the southern African nation.
Mugabe’s party sweeps Senate poll
(November 28, 2005) President Robert Mugabe’s party in Zimbabwe has won all but seven seats in a controversial new Senate, crushing the challenge posed by a severely weakened opposition party, final results showed on Monday.
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