(September 18, 2003) For some Londoners, the war against Saddam wasn’t just about politics. It was about the future of their homeland – and the chance to return to it. Johann Hari meets three young exiles who have just had their first taste of life in ‘free’ Iraq.
South African sentenced for water project bribery
(September 18, 2003) A South African who pleaded guilty to acting as an intermediary in bribery payments to the former head of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, has been sentenced to a fine of R500,000 or five years in prison.
World Bank returns to the infrastructure business
(September 17, 2003) In recent months, under pressure from some of its big borrower countries, and with a realisation that private sector investment has been lacking in critical areas, the bank is returning to the infrastructure business. It says it has learnt from its mistakes. But environmentalist critics are less sure.
Bickering over Iraq financing in play
(September 17, 2003) Another source of contention is the debt burden Iraq has accumulated under Saddam Hussein’s regime, which continues to bog down the country’s economy.
New Iraqi minister denounces past obligations incurred by Saddam
(September 17, 2003) Today’s Iraq should not be burdened with past obligations incurred by Saddam Hussein, said new Minister of Planning, Mahdi al-Hafiz. Iraq’s former regime, not the Iraqi people, invaded Kuwait and contracted enormous loans, said al-Hafiz.
New Iraqi Minister of Planning denounces continued payments to Kuwait
(September 17, 2003) Today’s Iraq should not be burdened with past obligations incurred by Saddam, says Mahdi al-Hafiz.
Iraq wants to clinch water deal with Syria, Turkey
(September 17, 2003) Poor relations with Syria and Turkey under Saddam Hussein’s government prevented Iraq from reaching an agreement on water quotas with its neighbours. Now talks to increase water flow from Turkey to Iraq and Syria are expected soon.
Chile Indians end protest against hydro-power dam
(September 17, 2003) Four elderly Indian women who have blocked the construction of a $570 million hydroelectric dam in southern Chile have ended their six-year protest and accepted $1.2 million in exchange for letting power group Endesa flood their ancestral land.
Landslide threatens 1,800 residents in Three Gorges area
(September 16, 2003) An old landslide threatens a primary school, a school for the disabled and 1,800 people living near the old county seat of Yunyang.
Thai EGAT may cancel plan to buy power from Lao Nam Theun 2
(September 16, 2003) The state Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has given the government of Laos an end-September deadline to provide a new time frame for the development of the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project.
ADB responds to PI re: disclosure of Se San 3 environmental assessment
(September 15, 2003) I met with Mr Édes to discuss the Bank’s position on its refusal to disclose the Se San 3 Hydropower Project Environmental Impact Assessment. ADB’s position remains the same as stated in the letter addressed to Mr. Peterson.
Thailand’s EGCO to meet Chinese bank on Lao dam
(September 15, 2003) Electricity Generating PCL , a key Thai investor in Laos’ $1.1 billion hydropower project, will talk to the China Development Bank about helping fund the scheme and taking a stake in it.
Governing council appoints central bank governor
(September 15, 2003) The Iraqi Governing Council appoints Iraq’s first post-Hussein central bank governor.
Corruptions Perception Index – Kenya to perform poorly
(September 15, 2003) As in other African countries, corruption in Kenya has been inextricably intertwined with the nature of the modern African state that is driven by patronage and derives its legitimacy from an ability to create and dispense patronage.
Another watershed for Acres
(September 15, 2003) Updating the Lesotho Highlands water project bribery scandal.
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