(April 1, 2004) Strengthened procedures to minimise the risk of bribery and corruption on business deals supported by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) will come into force on 1 May 2004.
Power interconnection in the Greater Mekong Subregion
(April 1, 2004) A Probe International-commissioned review of the Asian Development Bank’s 2002 Master Plan on Power Interconnection in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Negotiating local livelihoods: Scales of conflict in the Se San River Basin (PDF file)
(April 1, 2004) Constrained negotiation opportunities have led to a crisis of governance of Se San River Basin resources. This article on river basin management and conflict management identifies tentative openings for a more inclusive management approach.
Mighty Mekong is drained by Chinese dams
(April 1, 2004) An insatiable demand for power is being blamed for threatening the livelihoods of 20 million people by ruining fish stocks.
Fighting graft bribe by bribe
(March 31, 2004) There has been a sea change in the international legal system now. Some 35 countries have acceded to the OECD Convention Against Corruption, which means that those firms now cannot bribe abroad with impunity in places like Africa.
Gulf News says: Iraq’s debts can be forgiven
(March 31, 2004) There is something deeply unsettling about the issue of Iraq’s debt.
Fish catch may be off 20 percent
(March 31, 2004) Cambodian fisheries officials estimate this year’s fish catch could be 20 percent lower than last year amid reports of low rainfall contributing to a 10-year low in Mekong River water levels.
Slave owner insurance, 200 years on
Descendants of black American slaves are suing London’s oldest insurance firm, Lloyd’s of London, for compensation for allegedly underwriting the ships used in the slave trade. The case will throw a strange light on one of the atrocities of modern times. The case shows how slavery was just another trade needing just another insurance policy. The individual names listed on the policy were commonplace, and if any slave died it became easy to claim the death against insurance.
DNA linked plaintiffs to African slaves who suffered atrocities
(March 30, 2004) Descendants of slaves filed a $1 billion lawsuit Monday against U.S. and British corporations, accusing them of profiting by committing genocide against their ancestors. Lawyers for the eight plaintiffs said the complaint was the first slave reparations lawsuit to use DNA to link the plaintiffs to Africans who suffered atrocities during the slave trade.
Cynicism is corruption’s bedmate
(March 29, 2004) The Canadian engineering company convicted of bribing the former chief executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, seems to be intent on wriggling out of paying a R13 million fine imposed on it for its crimes in the mountain kingdom.
Iraq’s odious debt: Where do we go from here?
(March 29, 2004) It can be said without exaggeration that the collapse of the Iraqi economy was unique among developing countries in the 20th century.
Iraq faces $310bn debt crisis
(March 28, 2004) Iraq is heading for economic meltdown under the weight of its $310 billion international debt and reparations bill.
Former premier protected money from president, says banker
(March 25, 2004) In a landmark money-laundering trial in a U.S. court, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko stands accused of using U.S. banks to launder at least $114 million in money stolen from the Ukraine. Lazarenko insists the proceeds were earned legally and that he is being persecuted for having mounted a political challenge to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma ahead of a 1999 election.
Malaysians want a ‘clean’ Cabinet
(March 25, 2004) Pressure is growing on newly-elected Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to appoint people to his Cabinet who are corruption-free.
Dammed and dying: The Mekong and its communities face a bleak future
(March 25, 2004) One of the world’s greatest rivers has been reduced to a trickle in places by a series of giant Chinese dams and engineering works which are threatening the livelihoods of up to 100 million people in south-east Asia.
Patricia Adams
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