(December 21, 2005) The restructuring of Iraq’s outstanding debt is entering a pivotal stage. However, not everybody is pleased with a process that has been moving ahead at a rapid speed.
New Yangtze dams spell disaster for fish
(December 21, 2005) A group of Sichuan University undergraduates has won accolades for a research project that warns of the serious threat that new dams planned for the upper Yangtze pose to the river’s wild fish, and the communities that depend on them.
When flood control means more than a dam
In China, the world’s largest dam impounds floodwater, but without other controls, erosion will persist.
Hyundai Engineering agrees to write off Iraq debt
(December 20, 2005) Hyundai Engineering and Construction will accept a debt write-off proposal and collect only 20 percent of bonds it has been owed by Iraq since the first Gulf War 16 years ago.
Austria cancels 80 percent of Iraq debt
(December 19, 2005) Austria has announced it has cancelled the equivalent of $2.1 billion of Iraqi debt, amounting to 80% of Austria’s claims towards Iraq.
Political survival over people’s welfare
(December 18, 2005) In theory, the national budget can be a powerful mechanism for ensuring that public resources are used for the welfare of the majority. Unfortunately, narrow interests have perpetually hijacked the direction of Philippine economic policy and this is fully reflected in the national government budgets annually drawn up and implemented.
Deadline diggers: Archeologists race against the clock
The 100 teams toiling to save relics in the Three Gorges area ‘are fighting a losing battle, racing against a deadline they simply can’t hope to meet,’ China Daily reports.
China sentences four in radioactive
(December 17, 2005) China has sent four people to jail for stealing dangerous radioactive waste from a power plant in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
China’s longest river closes as flood toll rises
(December 16, 2005) The Yangtze River has been closed to all traffic at the site of the Three Gorges dam as flood water is now so high it is dangerous for ships to pass.
Iraqi elections: ‘To be free and fair’
(December 14, 2005) Only after occupation can the U.S. begin to make good on outstanding U.S. obligations to the people of Iraq – including compensation for the years of sanctions, reparations for the devastation of war, and cancellation of odious debt.
Africa needs freer markets – and fewer tyrants
(December 14, 2005) Famine in Niger is no surprise – desert wastes, locusts and decades of Marxist rule keep it second-to-last on the world poverty list. Famine in the fertile climes of southern and eastern Africa, however, seems more shocking. But there’s a common thread: centralized state rule – incompetent at best – marked by corruption and sustained by aid.
Floods test Zhu’s green policy
(December 13, 2005) The flood crests surging down the Yangtze present a political test for Premier Zhu Rongji and his supporters, who have been trying to take the greener path to ease the toll of perennial summer floods.
China’s latest flood disaster brings a rising tide of hype
This year’s rescue efforts may have been exaggerated, Richard McGregor and James Kynge report
China flood fears rise
Authorities in China are stepping up a massive anti-flood effort, mobilizing tens of thousands of people to shore up the nation’s second biggest freshwater lake which threatens to burst its banks and create a disaster worse than the deadly floods of 1998.
Compassionate debt relief or Paris Club 419?
(December 12, 2005) Some Nigerians refuse to celebrate the recent debt relief granted by the Paris Club cartel of creditors, and its accompanying conditions.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 