| BOLIVIA: Bolivia’s Morales rejects US domination by Hal Weitzman, The Financial Times January 22nd, 2006 Evo Morales was sworn in on Sunday as Bolivia’s first indigenous president in a historic and emotional ceremony that set the tone for his new government, promising to move much the profits of Bolivia's natural resources to the people of Bolivia. |
| GHANA: World Bank Says No Excuses Ghana Web News January 1st, 2006 The World Bank Country Director, Mr Mats Karlsson, has stated that Ghana has no reason to complain about difficulties in managing its economy because it has all the resources for accelerated development at its disposal. |
| NETHERLANDS: ABN to Pay $80 Million for Violations by Barnaby J. Feder, The New York Times December 20th, 2005 ABN Amro Bank, a global banking giant based in the Netherlands, has agreed to pay a total of $80 million in fines for violating regulations to prevent money-laundering, regulators and the bank said yesterday. |
| NEPAL: Nepal's Garment Industry Hangs by a Thread by Jo Johnson, Financial Times December 19th, 2005 The pashmina bubble that buoyed the garment industry in the late 1990s has burst. Fashion trendsetters have moved on, leaving a glut of cheap Chinese knock-offs in their wake. |
| World: Lenders Urge World Bank to Reject Oil, Mining Pullout by Emad Mekay, Inter Press Service News Agency April 5th, 2004 International investment banks are lobbying the World Bank to rebuff the recommendations of an independent study that urged the global lender to bail out of gas, oil and mining projects. |
| World: WB to Work on Oil, Gas and Mining Projects Financial Times February 26th, 2004 The president of the World Bank and his management colleagues will reject several of the crucial recommendations of a review about the extractive industries - oil, gas and mining - they themselves instituted. In particular, they will oppose the idea that the Bank should phase out all oil projects within five years. |
| Brazil: Lula and IMF Agree to Renew $14bn Loan Program by Raymond Colitt, Financial Times November 6th, 2003 The left-leaning government of Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president, agreed in principle with the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday to renew its expiring loan programme by one year. |
| MEXICO: Conference Draws 2,000 NGOs from 83 Countries by Diego Cevallos September 8th, 2003 This week's World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference in the Mexican resort of Cancun will also serve as a showcase and podium for nearly 2,000 civil society organisations from 83 countries, whose members have been flowing in by the plane- and busload. |
| Ethiopia: Prime Minister Hits Out at IMF BBC September 1st, 2003 Ethiopia's prime minister has hit out at continuing pressure from international financial organisations to push forward the country's privatisation process. Ethiopia has sold off part of some state enterprises, including 30% of the main telecoms operator. |
| Latin America: Churches Call for Alternative to Free Market by Marcela Valente, Inter Press Service May 2nd, 2003 BUENOS AIRES-- Leaders of Protestant churches of Latin America, tired of alleviating social problems that they blame on neo-liberal free market policies, have decided to advance their own alternative proposals to governments and the multilateral lending institutions. |
| WORLD: Internal Review Criticizes World Bank Mining, Oil and Gas Projects by By Emad Mekay, Inter Press Service April 2nd, 2003 The World Bank should revamp its lending policies for mining, oil and gas projects to avoid corruption, mismanagement and poor economic performance spreading in countries that rely on such industries, says a confidential study by the Bank's internal review body. |
| ARGENTINA: Leap in Unsafe Abortions by Marcela Valente, Inter Press Service March 12th, 2003 Hospital admissions arising from unsafe abortions in Argentina rose 50 percent in five years, and multiplied by a factor of 2.5 in some provinces -- a lethal consequence of the economic crisis and soaring poverty. |
| Mali: Doubts Grow About Debt Relief by Emad Mekay, InterPress News Service March 10th, 2003 International creditors of Mali have agreed to cancel $675 million of its debt over time under a controversial debt relief scheme, rewarding the West African nation for its pro-free market economic restructuring plan, they say. |
| WORLD: The Planet is Running Out of Fresh Water by Maude Barlow, The Guardian February 26th, 2003 The private sector was the first to notice: the planet is running out of fresh water at such a rate that soon it will be the most valuable commodity on earth. |
| BOLIVIA: Citizens, Media Excluded from Bechtel Trial by World Bank Tribunal WTO Info February 25th, 2003 Citizens excluded from $25 million suit against Bolivia for company's failed water privatization scheme Washington, DC- The Bechtel Corporation was handed a powerful victory last week, when a secretive trade court announced that it would not allow the public or media to participate in or even witness proceedings in which Bechtel is suing the people of Bolivia for $25 million. |
| SWITZERLAND: Police Ward Off Protesters at World Economic Forum by Alan Cowell, New York Times January 26th, 2003 DAVOS, Switzerland -- While participants in the World Economic Forum here debated the consequences of a possible war in Iraq, police officers with tear-gas grenades and water cannons mounted a huge security operation to keep protesters away from the delegates, who included Secretary of State Colin Powell. |
| INDONESIA: Protesters Challenge Price Increases BBC News January 15th, 2003 Hundreds of protesters in Palu, Central Sulawesi, threw rocks at the provincial headquarters of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's political party. Police fired off at least two rounds of warning shots. There have been daily protests since the government increased fuel prices by 22% a fortnight ago as part of a package of economic reforms approved by the International Monetary Fund. |
| Argentina: Government Defaults on Internatioal Loan BBC January 15th, 2003 Argentina has failed to make a crucial $681m debt payment, dealing a further blow to hopes of an economic recovery. |
| Venezuela: World Bank Freezes Oil Loans BBC News January 10th, 2003 The World Bank has frozen the distribution of $225m in loans to Venezuela's oil industry until the country ''normalises''. |
| World: IMF Strong-Arms Debtors Despite New Lending Guidelines by Emad Mekay, InterPress Service December 10th, 2002 WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (IPS) -- Three months ago the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it had adopted a new set of lending guidelines that would permit borrowing countries to take control of their economies like never before. |