(April 21, 2004) Having helped sustain and humor the tyranny and fraud of Saddam Hussein for years via the massively corrupt Oil-for-Food program, the United Nations has for the past year been seeking a new role for itself in Iraq.
Debt relief for poor faces $7.8 bln gap, US watchdog
(April 20, 2004) A debt relief program for the world’s poorest countries is facing a $7.8 billion funding shortfall, mostly from the World Bank, a U.S. Congressional watchdog told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Saddam cleaned up on UN’s ‘oil-for-palaces’ program
(April 20, 2004) The oil-for-food program was one of the larger rip-offs of all time. Under the UN’s nose, Saddam Hussein skimmed off billions.
Jews who fled Iraq to get compensation
(April 20, 2004) French insurance giant AXA has agreed to compensate Jews who owned property in Iraq and fled in the early 1950s, a precedent that could pave the way for reparations for some 850,000 Jews who left Arab countries, officials said Tuesday.
World Bank seizes on Iraq debt deal
(April 20, 2004) America’s determination to write off Saddam Hussein’s $90bn (£50bn) debt mountain has opened the door to a more generous deal for the most impoverished countries in Africa, the head of the World Bank said yesterday.
World Bank eyes Iraq debt deal for others – paper
(April 19, 2004) The prospect of the world community forgiving most of Iraq’s debt could be used as an opportunity for debt relief for other developing countries the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday quoted the World Bank as saying.
Senators to protest Chinese dam building
(April 18, 2004) Fears of devastating damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Mekong River are spurring the Senate foreign affairs committee to send a letter to the Chinese government, calling for a halt to all further damming of the upper Mekong.
Lesotho shames SA with its resolve to stamp out bribery
(April 18, 2004) If Masupha Sole had worked for Pretoria rather than Maseru, would he have ended up in court? Would he now be in jail?
Bulgaria to reschedule Iraq debt
(April 18, 2004) Bulgaria will not write-off but reschedule Iraq’s debt in view of the country’s economy and oil sector potential.
Accountancy firms working on debt
(August 17, 2004) Before we can get to a stage where the debt is rescheduled and renegotiated and some sort of agreement on what the Iraqi people are willing to pay, we need to get a reliable figure for what is owed.
No Nu news as Beijing cracks down on crusading papers
(April 16, 2004) The uncertainty swirling around China’s plans for a cascade of 13 dams on the Nu River in Yunnan province is precisely the kind of story that a beleaguered Guangzhou-based media group would have been keen to cover in happier times.
ANC sweeps to most dramatic victory yet
(April 16, 2004) South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) surged towards its most dramatic victory election yet today as the country’s voters showed their loyalty to the party that led them out of apartheid.
Putin attacks corruption by hiking public pay
(April 16, 2004) Russian President Vladimir Putin, re-elected last month on an anti-graft agenda, has given state officials a hefty pay rise aimed at ensuring them a decent income without having to resort to bribery.
Volcker to probe corruption in UN’s Iraq oil program
(April 15, 2004) Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s choice to investigate allegations of corruption in the UN-administered oil-for-food program in Iraq, UN envoys said.
Cost of corruption worldwide stands at USD 1000 bn a year: World Bank study
(April 15, 2004) Cost due to corruption in both rich and developing countries is estimated at a whopping 1000 billion dollars a year, a World Bank Institute study has said.
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