(August 1, 2003) Environmental activists “pitted against some of the world’s biggest energy companies over megaprojects in the Third World” are increasingly staging their battles in countries that fund such projects in environmentally fragile areas of Latin America.
Lutherans call for cancellation of illegitimate, odious debts
(July 31, 2003) The tenth assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has issued a statement calling on international financial institutions to acknowledge that part of the debt given to developing countries is odious and should be canceled.
Southern Africa calls for reparations for apartheid
(July 30, 2003) Loans to the apartheid regime and its agents are “odious debts” and should not be repaid, says the London-based International Apartheid Debt and Reparations Campaign.
Chile Indians block hydro-electric dam project
(July 28, 2003) RALCO – Four elderly Pehuenche Indian women are blocking completion of a $570 million hydroelectric dam at Ralco in southern Chile, saying it would flood sacred land and destroy their way of life.
Wheel of Iraq’s economic progress keeps rolling
(July 28, 2003) Iraq may be further burdened by debts and interest which even for an oil-rich state could take years to pay back. Unless there are some debt write-offs, at least the interest, Iraq will be facing the future with a major noose round its neck.
When is a debt not a debt?
(July 25, 2003) The war in Iraq has called into question much of the architecture of international relations built up since the Second World War, says Global Finance magazine. The aftermath might shape the way that money is lent to emerging markets.
ENDESA criticizes hard to the Stavenhagen Story, by declarations around Ralco Power station.
(July 25, 2003) Relator of the UN was imprudent affirmed ENDESA. The government, in as much, informed that only he will talk about the subject when the United Nations gives an official report on the work of the relator, which would happen in April of 2004.
Who profits from erasing Iraq’s debt?
(July 23, 2003) Richard Perle called for a debt relief for Iraq as a way of teaching banks about the "moral hazard of … lend[ing] to a vicious dictatorship." Other countries with "odious debt" incurred under nasty regimes may be granted debt forgiveness. Why not Iraq?
Foreign debt: Nigeria’s millstone
(July 23, 2003) If Nigeria could recover all the money "looted by past government officials," it would substantially reduce the country’s foreign debt, says Dr. Ndubisis Nwokoma, a professor of economics at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Shortening the occupation of Iraq
(July 22, 2003) "American companies, connected to the Bush administration, […] will charge inflated costs, adding to Iraq’s debts and leaving it to the mercy of the World Bank and the IMF, which both serve America’s interests," says Dar Al-Hayat.
Proposals to deny debt relief to Congo, risks U.S. debt stance on Iraq
(July 21, 2003) Proposals in the U.S. Congress to deny requests for millions of dollars in debt relief to the Democratic Republic of Congo may compromise U.S. calls for other countries to write off debt owed by Iraq, debt campaigners say.
Bulgarian goods to enjoy major interest at US market
(July 20, 2003) In the words of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Samuel W. Bodman the matter with Iraq’s debts is a priority but these debts might be repaid following the revival of the Iraqi economy.
Laos’ dam plans dim as French pull plug
(July 19, 2003) Laos’s progress toward becoming the battery that provides much of Southeast Asia’s electric power was abruptly unplugged yesterday when major shareholder Electricite de France (EDF) withdrew from the controversial Nam Theun II dam project.
Egat sets deadline for Nam Theun-Big project in Laos loses major investor
(July 19, 2003) Thailand’s state powerproducer reacted immediately after the state-owned Electricite de France (EDF) pulled out of Nam Theun 2, raising questions about the future of Indochina’s biggest hydroelectric dam venture.
World Bank Says Laos Dam Project Affected By EDF Pull Out
(July 18, 2003) The World Bank said Friday the decision of French utility Electricite de France (F.EDF) to withdraw from the long-delayed and controversial $1.1 billion hydroelectric power project Nam Theun 2 in Laos may jeopardize the future of the project.
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