(May 11, 2007) A blog advocating for the resignation of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
Environment watchdog calls for sharper teeth
(May 10, 2007) Pan Yue, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), has called for the introduction of a new regulation that would require an environmental impact assessment to be carried out prior to the commencement of any major construction project.
Europeans press Wolfowitz to quit as bank chief
(May 10, 2007) “If this is true, it’s disappointing and outrageous. What is the point of giving us time to make a submission if they have already made up their minds?”
Never mind Wolfowitz: Scrap the World Bank
(May 10, 2007) The kerfuffle over whether Paul Wolfowitz, the World Bank’s president, behaved badly regarding the contract for his companion to facilitate her departure from the bank involves no large issue. The bank’s existence does. The bank’s rationale, never strong, has evaporated.
Graft Fights Back
(May 9, 2007) A majority on the World Bank’s board, many of whom are directors from Third World countries opposed to president Paul Wolfowitz’s anti-corruption campaign, understandably want him out. But why is the World Bank Group Staff Association so intent on getting rid of Wolfowitz?
Three Gorges landslide threat forces villagers to flee
(May 9, 2007) Nearly 100 villagers living upstream from the Three Gorges dam have been forced to leave their homes under threat of a landslide, which officials fear was disturbed during the filling of the dam’s reservoir last year, Xinhua News Agency reported this week.
Communication from the Executive Directors of the World Bank
(May 9, 2007) Additional time has been granted the World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to comment on the draft report of the World Bank’s ad hoc committee, which was provided to him on May 6.
China invests to improve dams and drinking water
(May 8, 2007) China will invest 29.65 billion yuan (US$3.85 billion) this year to reinforce dams and improve rural drinking water quality, Chinese media reported on Monday.
China closes down 3,176 polluting companies in 2006
(May 6, 2007) China closed down a total of 3,176 polluting enterprises amid a campaign in which 720,000 companies have been checked for their pollution discharges last year, according to the country’s top environment watchdog.
China firm to build Myanmar hydro-power plants
(May 5, 2007) A Chinese firm will help military-run Myanmar build seven hydro-electric plants with combined power capacity likely to be the biggest in the Southeast Asian country, state media said on Saturday.
Predatory lending
(May 4, 2007) In the flap over Paul Wolfowitz’s "sweetheart deal" for Shaha Riza, World Bank staffers are demanding his resignation to protect the "credibility" of the Bank. This is rich.
World Bank rolls
(May 3, 2007) Nearly 1,400 employees make more than Condi Rice.
Defending Wolfowitz
(May 3, 2007) “I’m having a hard time whipping myself up into a state of indignation over Paul Wolfowitz. Sorry. Could it be me? Could it be the onset of delightful weather? Or could it be that Paul Wolfowitz is being railroaded?”
Sovereign debt restructuring, odious debt, and the politics of debt relief
(May 3, 2007) is more of a literature rather than a doctrine. One can find numerous arguments dating back decades arguing that new regimes should be entitled to relief from "odious debts." The actual cases of relief, however, are few.
Odious, not debt
(May 2, 2007) This article argues that the doctrine of Odious Debt, which has enjoyed a revival since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, frames the problem of odious debt in a way that excludes most of the problematic obligations incurred by twentieth-century despots.
Probe International 