Daily Press Cuttings

Press Friday 6^th October

Guardian: Globalisation: Article by Colin Hines saying that after Seattle and Prague we need to replace globalisation with “localisation.” More than $1500 billion flows across international borders every day and 90 per cent of these flows are speculative, the writer argues that “democratic control over such capital is the key to providing the money for governments and communities to rebuild.” He suggests that a Tobin tax, a broader re-regulation of finance capital and an attack on corporate tax evasion are required and that it may be possible for a regional grouping, such as the European Union, to propose such controls. The 21^st century will pit localists against those trying to manage globalisation. Indonesia: An appeal has been lodged against last week's court ruling that former president Suharto is too ill to stand trial for corruption. It may be possible to try the accused in his absence. South Africa/AIDS: President Mbeki is claiming that the CIA is working covertly with US drug companies to discredit him because he is challenging the world economic order and questioning the link between HIV and AIDS.

Economist: World Bank: Vinod Thomas, a vice president of the World Bank, replies to last week's criticism of the new report “The Quality of Growth”. Emphasis is placed on the need for economic growth and he also defends the broader agenda set by the World Bank's study, saying the quality of growth determines how much welfare improves.

FT: Cote D'Ivoire: The price of cocoa surged yesterday amid concern that political turmoil could hit supplies. Cote D'Ivoire is the world's biggest producer of the commodity. Asia: Thailand's prime minister has urged the Association of South-east nations (ASEAN) to move ahead on the creation of a free trade area. India/Russia: President Putin risked antagonising western allies with a commitment to further support India's nuclear programme. Land: Letter from Gail Warden criticising the argument that private ownership of land is essential. She suggests that quick-fix, over-simple solutions will be as disastrous as IMF/World Bank structural adjustment. South Africa: Financial Times Survey.

Independent: Zimbabwe: Britain has been accused of backing the country's first independent radio station closed down by police earlier this week. UN: The organisation is deadlocked on the decision of successor for the job of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a role responsible for the lives of 22 million people and a budget of almost $1 billion.

Times: AIDS: The first human trials of a new AIDS vaccine will begin in South Africa and America next February.

Wall Street Journal: Cote D'Ivoire: The military have been accused of violence and torture as tension rises ahead of the presidential elections on October 22^nd. Burkino Faso immigrants have been leaving the country in large numbers.

IHT: IMF: Letter from Bruce Walker saying that prescribing economic medicine without a knowledge of the patient is as likely to worsen the situation as help. IMF conditionality needs to emphasise education, health, clean water and sanitation.

Cote D'Ivoire: Editorial which blames General Guei for the economic chaos and political crisis now facing the once stable country. Oil/US: The release of US reserves has pushed the price of crude oil lower. Prices could stay below $30 per barrel for the foreseeable future. Chile/Environment: The hole in the ozone layer has extended over the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. This is the first time the Antarctic hole has stretched over a city and residents were exposed to high levels of ultraviolet radiation. Mexico: Hurricane Keith has battered Mexico's Gulf coast.

Press Thursday 5^th October 2000

FT (website): Debt/US: Stephen Fiddler reports that US businesses are putting pressure on Congress to secure the finance for debt relief for the poorest countries. Goldman Sachs, Motorola and Bechtel are among groups calling for full US funding for the HIPC initiative and have signed an open statement which says that “while the US is responsible for less than 4 per cent of the total cost (of HIPC), the rest of the world is waiting for full US participation.” The Clinton administration is seeking $435 million to finance the US share until the end of the current fiscal year and also seeking authorisation for the IMF to fund its share of the initiative.

FT: Debt/Zimbabwe: The World Bank is to stop lending to Zimbabwe because of the country's failure to meet its debt service obligations. Zimbabwe's deadline for meeting repayments of $47 million has now expired. The decision is seen as the latest indication of the increasingly troubled political and economic situation. An opposition campaign to remove President Mugabe from office, following controversial elections in June, has now been endorsed by Nelson Mandela. Economic problems include fuel shortages, power cuts and the dispute over land. The Harare government has acknowledged the scale of its economic difficulties, forecasting that if debt obligations were to be met the budget deficit for 2000 would rise above 20 per cent of GDP. Mr Mugabe has accused the World Bank and other creditors of seeking to use economic levers to influence the political process in Zimbabwe. India/Arms: India and Russia yesterday signed a $3 billion arms deal which involves the joint production and marketing of Russian-designed weapons systems. Inequality: Letter from Harvey Cole saying there is a long way to go in closing the income gap with developing countries. If the developed world continues to increase GDP per head at a modest 2 per cent, while developing countries achieve an improbable 5 per cent, the absolute gap will not begin to close for 31 years.

Guardian: Mexico: President-elect Vicente Fox visits London today for trade talks with Tony Blair. This is part of a tour designed to convince the world that the country is entering a new era of democracy and stability. However immediate problems faced at home include high level corruption, violent crime and widespread poverty. UN: The United Nations is facing heavy criticism for the secret selection of the post of UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Globalisation/Health: Report from Margaret Wertheim in “Online” on how the Third World is providing a cheap source of subjects for medical research into AIDS and other conditions.

Independent: Bolivia: Business leaders have urged the government to declare a state of emergency to end 17 days of protests. Ten people died last week in clashes with security forces as roadblocks paralysed cities and sent food prices soaring in a dispute over coca production. Cote D'Ivoire: Four people were reported killed when a bomb exploded at a bus terminal. The ruling junta are implementing a state of emergency as tensions rise in the run up to presidential elections on October 22^nd. Indonesia: The militia leader alleged to have organised much of last year's violence in East Timor, was arrested in Jakarta yesterday.

IHT: Trade: Carlos Trojan, EU delegate at the WTO, is interviewed on the progress of WTO talks and mentions that NGO'S can no longer be ignored. He also said that “Seattle taught us that developing countries must be heard.” India: The official death toll from the floods in the state of West Bengal has risen to more than 1000. Tens of thousands have been homeless for two weeks. Zimbabwe: Armed police have blockaded an independent radio station less than a week after it began broadcasting and broke the state's broadcast monopoly. Indonesia: Report on the growth of the economy despite unrest in the country which threatens the democratic system.

Wednesday 4th October 2000

The Guardian: Jubilee 2000: There will be bureaucrats within the World Bank and the IMF counting down the days to the end of the year when Jubilee 2000, the coalition calling for the cancellation of third world debt finally shuts up shop. The UK-based lobby group has harried the two international financial institutions for more than five years to give the world's indebted countries a break. Human chains around World Bank and IMF meetings and the support of high-profile figures like Bono and the Pope has taken debt from being an obscure backroom issue to front page news. On Monday the lead singer of the band U2 met Bill Clinton at the White House and with religious leaders and senators urged the US to cancel its share of third world debts. The campaign has achieved some breakthroughs, but in less than 100 days the main focus of the debt campaign will finish. “You can't turn a sprint into a marathon,” says Adrian Lovett, Jubilee's deputy director. Privately, insiders in the bank admit the holes in the present debt deal are beginning to appear. Crashing commodity prices and the rising cost of oil is hitting the indebted countries of Sub-Saharan Africa the hardest. Developing country campaigners feel they are being abandoned by their northern partners with the job not even half done. However, Justin Forsyth of Oxfam says that the World Bank, IMF and G7 “would be making a big mistake if they are banking on the pressure disappearing after Jubilee 2000 shuts down.” Jubilee 2000 may be about to fold up its tents but the heirs to grassroots opposition it rallied will be carrying on the fight. Prague: Human rights observers in Prague are expressing concern over allegations that protesters still behind bars have been mistreated after last week's anti-globalisation demonstrations in the Czech capital. Between 850 and 1000 protesters were arrested during and after the demonstrations, and many have spoken of police brutality, violence and mental abuse. Czech police have barely commented on the allegations. Sudan: For the first time in nearly two decades there is a chance of an end to the war in southern Sudan, which has taken half the country out of the control of Khartoum and plunged its people back more than half a century into isolation and backwardness. Today, Sudan's new international prominence, with a likely seat on the UN security council as the candidate of the Organisation of African Unity and its immense new oil riches, combined with major shifts in internal and regional politics may have created an international impetus to end the long conflict.

IHT: Indonesia: In a startling turn of events that increases pressure on the government to prove its impartiality, the youngest son of former President Suharto admitted Tuesday that he was guilty of corruption and asked for clemency to avoid serving an 18-month prison sentence imposed by the Supreme Court.

FT: Indonesia/UK: The UK Foreign Office is investigating allegations that British-made Hawk military aircraft have been used to crack down on the independence movement in Papua, a province of Indonesia. Cuba: Cuba's Paris Club creditors will try to start negotiating a multilateral debt rescheduling deal with the communist-ruled Caribbean island before the end of the year, ending a long-running deadlock, diplomats in Havana have said. Cuba's total hard currency foreign debt at the end of 1999 was just over $11 billion.

Tuesday 3rd October 2000

The Independent: Bangladesh/India: The South West of Bangladesh has been hit by its worst floods in 50 years. According to one report yesterday, 3 million Bangladeshis in these south-western regions have been forced from their homes, dozens have drowned and hundreds more are missing. Across the border in India's West Bengal state, 16 million people have lost their homes.

FT: Iran/UK/ECGD: The Export Credits Guarantee Department is to provide cover to help UK exporters compete for contracts in Iran following an agreement to write off about £20 million of Iranian debt. The Iranian government has agreed to repay a small amount of pre-revolutionary debt owed to the ECGD. The original sum had been about £100 million but this was reduced to £24 million during years of negotiations that stalled three years ago. World Bank: Letter from Charles Williams takes issue with the FT editorial which asked how “anyone can deal constructively with people who believe that throwing stones is a proper response to world poverty.” Two days previously you had informed your readers that internal World Bank documents revealed that more than 2.6 million people were last year being resettled against their will by World Bank projects. Rather than denouncing the handful of stone-throwing hotheads in Prague, should you not be asking how one can deal constructively with people who believe that evicting 2.6 million people from their homes is a proper response to poverty?” Indonesia: Despite the government's optimism surrounding the draft budget which was unveiled yesterday, Indonesia's public finances will continue to be weighed down by the cost of servicing it's huge public debts. About 31% of all government spending consists of interest payments on foreign debt and bonds issued to recapitalise the country's battered banks.

The Voice: Guinea/Liberia: The Liberian government has expressed “outrage” at an attack on its territory by neighbouring Guinea. It warned the Guinean army's shelling of the provincial town of Zorzor, north of Monrovia, was an “act of provocation tantamount to a full scale war” between both countries.

The Guardian: Oil: The world's top 10 oil companies, including BP and Shell, will generate nearly $111bn cash this year on the back of booming crude prices, according to financial experts. The industry is expected to reduce the size of its money mountain through increased capital expenditure, higher dividends and share buybacks.

Observer (Sunday): Prague: Critics of the World Bank's showpiece `World Development Report' released three weeks ago claim that nothing substantial has changed in respect of the institutions' strategies to reduce poverty. According to Ted van Hees, co-ordinator of the Brussels-based European Network on Debt and Development, the poverty reduction strategy papers (previously called structural adjustment policies) impose a new layer of conditions that make a complex system even more cumbersome and thus serve to further delay debt relief. Jessica Woodroffe of the World Development Movement says Mali's most recent IMF deal, signed only last month, lists almost 100 macroeconomic and structural adjustment measures to be implemented in the period 1999-2002, many related to privatisation and reorganisation of activities traditionally conducted by government. At the meeting in Prague, the Commonwealth Secretariat said the changes had introduced a serious new aid bottleneck. Debt campaigners also criticising the small amount of HIPC relief that a country receives at the decision point. And, in a riposte to the Bank's assertion that a total of $100bn of debt could be cancelled, Jubilee 2000 highlighted the fact that the amount would fall far short of the $370bn owed by 52 developing countries which only confirmed the initiative's limitations. Ann Pettifor is quoted as saying: “The credibility of the Bank/IMF debt initiative evaporated in the Prague sunshine.”

The Daily Telegragh: Prague: Rachel Sylvester in her Behind the Scenes article says that “the success of Jubilee 2000, the mainly church-based campaign for action on world debt, proved the power of popular movements long before the fuel protesters took to the streets.”

Monday 2nd October 2000

FT: OPEC/Venezuela: Hugo Chavez, the summit's host and Venezuelan president is reported to have told delegates that if the G8 leaders wanted to talk to their OPEC counterparts about oil prices, then they would also have to engage in a wider debate on issues such as globalisation and indebtedness. Côte d' Ivoire: If he has a joker up his sleeve, Alassane Outtara, Côte d'Ivoire's controversial opposition leader and of late Bette bête noire of the military regime, is not revealing it yet. All the signs suggest that the former deputy director of the IMF will be prevented from running in the presidential elections in three weeks, and that General Robert Guei, the country's military ruler, will orchestrate an election victory for himself. A proposal from the Organisation of African States to delay the elections and allow tempers to cool were rejected outright by the junta. Europe/corporate debt: FT leader says that it would be the ultimate irony if western governments are forced to use receipts from their recent mobile phone licence auctions to bail out the banks that lent to the winning telecommunications companies. But exactly that spectre is troubling the banking regulators in many industrial countries. Peru: Alleged victims of Vladimiro Montesinos, Peru's feared former intelligence chief followed him to Panama at the weekend to press for his arrest for crimes against humanity. Peru/ Debt: The Peruvian government agreed yesterday to pay $58 million to Elliott Associates, a New York hedge fund to settle claims on defaulted loans from the 1980s. The move will allow the government to avoid a wider default on $3.7bn in its sovereign debt. Oil: G7 leaders appear to have swung the oil price by a combination of bluster, persuasion and intervention. Oil prices which have been pushed to a peak of $34 a barrel dipped comfortably below $30 yesterday. Sierra Leone: The United Nations sanctions committee yesterday approved Sierra Leone's diamond certification system aimed at stemming the flow of conflict diamonds.

The Guardian: Mexico/Hurricane Keith: A powerful hurricane is bringing heavy rain and 135mph winds to eastern Mexico and north-eastern Belize. Parts of Honduras and Nicaragua have been put on flood alert. Middle East/Water: A drought in Turkey has worsened the regional controversy over the country's dam-building programme on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

The Times: Zimbabwe/World Bank: A World Bank official in Harare yesterday came close to calling for an end to President Mugabe's 20 year rule. He commented that "decisive action is needed" with a successful political transition a key to economic stabilisation. The country owes $383 million in debt repayments ($47 million to the Bank), faces a 10 per cent fall in GDP next year and has been listed among the world's poorest economies by the World Bank. The Times 2 section contains an investigation into the plight of Zimbabwe's black farm workers.

Daily Telegraph: Vietnam: Over 200 people have been killed in the worst floods for decades to hit Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Authorities plan to move 80000 into temporary refugee camps

IHT: Globalisation: The article entitled "In Prague, Capitalism with a Human Face", says that world financial leaders are heeding the warnings of unregulated free flows of investment which Robert Hormats of Goldmann Sachs International has says has meant that the "little guy got screwed while the wealthy were able to stock away most of their money in Geneva".

Independent: Guinea: Government sources in Guinea claimed that "unidentified gunmen" had staged raids on 3 settlements in the Macenta area near the country's border with Liberia. Observers believe the recent government clampdown on refugees which number 500,000 has heightened tension in all border areas.