(January 17, 2007) This paper examines the way that the traditional notion of odious debt as a method of repudiating sovereign debt may undergo a conceptual revolution, as it changes focus from the illegitimacy of governments obtaining loans, to the illegitimacy of the systems through which such loans are made and enforced generally.
Groups protest Blair’s decision to drop top fraud probe
(January 17, 2007) Earlier this week, 140 international charities, churches and NGOs sent a written petition to British Prime Minister Tony Blair demanding that he reopen a corruption probe into a controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Indian High Court orders top investigation agency probe of SNC Lavalin case
(January 17, 2007) The Kerala High Court in south-western India has directed the country’s top investigation agency to look into a corruption scandal concerning a years’ old government electricity contract awarded to a Canadian construction firm.
China’s ‘cancer villages’ pay price
(January 17, 2007) The small hamlet of Shangba is a tiny jumbled collection of houses sitting in the lush green paddy fields and hills of southern China.
Shandong farmers use water for drinking and irrigation from a river as black as ink
(January 17, 2007) First part in a series of articles on China’s pollution crisis. Hundreds of thousands of farmers must use filthy water for drinking and irrigation. The economies of entire farming and fishing villages have been destroyed. Authorities do not seem concerned and do not stop the pollution or help locals whilst local governments are more interested in increasing industrial developments.
Beijing rudely awakened from green dream
(January 17, 2007) China’s resolve to abandon its decades-old habit of pursuing economic growth at any cost and instead promote energy conservation and environmental protection has stumbled because of resistance from development-minded local officials and powerful interest groups.
Protest letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair concerning BAE Systems Plc
(January 15, 2007) International charities, churches and NGOs petition Prime Minister Blair to reopen a corruption probe into a controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Sea waters ‘heavily polluted’
(January 15, 2007) Marine pollution has worsened in the past year, especially in the shallow waters off the coast, said the Beijing oceanic authority on Friday.
Salt forces S. China cities to go upstream for water
(January 15, 2007) Salty tap water that affects up to 50 million people has forced the Asian gambling hub Macau and its sister city Zhuhai to hastily build a pipeline to access water further upstream, a water official said on Monday.
Offline library 2007
(January 15, 2007) Beijing gets tough with penalties for polluters, by Shi Jiangtao, SCMP, Jan. 11, 2007 Approval suspended for new projects as cities, power firms break environment laws.
Northeast villagers to air grievances about Vietnamese dams
(January 14, 2007) Villagers said that more than 60 hectares in Ratanakkiri province, Lumphat and Kon Mom districts alone were destroyed by flood, and hundreds of villagers have abandoned their homes.
China cracks the whip on polluters
(January 14, 2007) China has cracked the whip to punish environment polluters as it struggled but failed to meet energy cuts and pollution goals over recent years.
Cautious welcome to pollution drive
(January 12, 2007) Beijing’s latest crackdown on industrial pollution, targeting top power producers and development-minded local governments, has received a cautious welcome from environmental experts and even the affected companies.
Power producers ordered to meet environmental standards before expanding
(January 12, 2007) Four of China’s power generating giants will not be allowed to build new power projects until they correct environmental problems with existing generating facilities, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA).
Pollution fears over China’s growth
(January 12, 2007) China has recorded double-digit growth for the fourth year in succession, according to the country’s top economic planner, amid rising tension between the push for continued fast development and the environment.
Patricia Adams
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Lawrence Solomon
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