(May 25, 2004) Gerhard Schroder, the German chancellor, yesterday said his country’s offer to forgive a substantial amount of Iraq’s debt was conditional on an interim Iraqi government being given full sovereignty over the country on June 30.

(May 24, 2004) UK-based debt campaigner Jubilee Iraq has highlighted its concerns regarding the release this week of the United Nations’ draft resolution on Iraq, saying a number of the draft’s provisions put to the UN Security Council are relevant to Jubilee Iraq’s work to challenge repayment of Iraq’s odious debt. Citing from the draft, Jubilee Iraq notes:

(May 23, 2004) The United States wants Iraq’s sovereign creditors to write off 80-90 percent of the oil-rich state’s debt but Paris wants to cancel just 50 percent, a French source said on the margins of a G7 meeting on Sunday.

(May 23, 2004) As the debate intensifies over what kind of government will take over Iraq on June 30, one certainty is that the new leadership will have to manage one of the most destabilizing legacies of Saddam Hussein’s rule – a crushing debt burden.

(May 21, 2004) Iraqi officials are seeking to speed up the resolution of the country’s massive debt problem in the hope of receiving more generous terms before the battered economy picks up.

(May 21, 2004) An Iraqi delegation will travel to the United Nations on Wednesday to demand full control of the country’s oil revenues and a cut in war reparations.

(May 18, 2004) Two competing requests for proposals (RFPs) from two governing authorities adds up to confusion for Big Four auditors.