(March 22, 2007) The annual global graft ranking by Transparency International has come under fire for not including tax havens in its survey. The Norwegian aid journal, Development Today, reports that the international NGO Tax Justice Network (TJN) has called on Transparency International to rate tax havens as highly, if not higher, than bribery in terms of impact because developing countries lose more in revenue this way than from bribery.
Cross-debarment by MDBs could become routine
(March 22, 2007) A decision by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development could signal a change in business as usual for MDBs: multiple bank blacklistings for companies found guilty of fraud could become the new trend.
Introduction: The Players and the Game of Sovereign Debt
(March 19, 2007) This essay characterizes the main actors and how they operate during a buildup of government foreign debt and after a default on payments. These actors are the borrowing governments, domestic and foreign commercial banks, purchasers of government bonds, other governments lending to the debtor, and multilateral institutions (the International Monetary Fund and development banks).
Risks of Lending and Liability of Lenders
(March 19, 2007) Risk and liability change the initially stipulated terms of contracts, overruling their otherwise binding nature. Risk encourages careful assessment of debtors’ abilities to service debts. Errors and negligence in assessment, and even external shocks, make creditors suffer losses.
Contract, priority, and odious debt
(March 16, 2007) This Article proposes that sovereign nations and their creditors adopt a contractual approach to the seemingly intractable problem of odious debt. Odious debt is generally defined as an obligation incurred by a despotic or illegitimate leader that provides no value to the population of the sovereign.
Contract, priority, and odious debt
(March 16, 2007) This Article proposes that sovereign nations and their creditors adopt a contractual approach to the seemingly intractable problem of odious debt.
Partially odious debts? A framework for an optimal liability regime
(March 15, 2007) This article argues that the cost of odious debt ought to be borne by the party who is best positioned to prevent the accumulation of such debt.
Are British corruption laws up to scratch?
(March 14, 2007) U.K. legal expert Anita Esslinger compares British anti-corruption laws to pornography in terms of clarity. Drawing on a quote by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart who once famously said that although he might not be able to define pornography, “I know it when I see it.” The same might be said for the definition of “corruption” under laws applicable in the United Kingdom, writes Esslinger.
Unsafe water tops environment fear
(March 13, 2007) Beijing: Unsafe drinking water in rural areas topped last year’s environmental concerns, according to a report from a non-governmental organization based in Beijing.
Developing countries are amateurs in the corruption game
(March 13, 2007) Exporting countries are only paying lip service to the enforcement of anti-corruption laws, according to the results of a new Transparency International survey that rates the tendency of companies in the top 30 exporting countries to pay bribes abroad.
Dam has minimal impact on environment
(March 9, 2007) The environment in the Three Gorges Dam area has been stable since the water level reached 156 meters fours month ago, a chief project planner said.
Iraqi anti-corruption head says graft worse than in Saddam’s time
(March 8, 2007) Corruption in Iraq is now worse than it was during Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Chairman of Iraq’s Commission on Public Integrity (CPI), Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, said in an interview published by the Arabic-language Asharq Alawsat newspaper. "There are eight ministers and 40 general directors against whom corruption charges have been brought and they [have] all fled abroad," he said.
Steering clear of Chavez
(March 8, 2007) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is behind a growing Latin American economic challenge to the United States, foreign investors and multinational companies, claims a recent analysis of the president’s influence in the region.
China’s going down the drain
(March 7, 2007) China has launched an ambitious water-saving plan. But analysts say that if the plan is to be fully implemented, the central government must take effective measures to rein in rampant regional protectionism.
Nu River news
(March 6, 2007) The Nu River runs through southwest China’s Yunnan province — and the Three Parallel Rivers National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site — before flowing downstream to Burma and Thailand, where it is known as the Salween. It is Southeast Asia’s last major free-flowing river, but plans are under way to dam it in both China and Burma.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 