Straus-Kahn Victim Of Sarkozy's Smear Campaign: Ally

By ETHAN Markoff
May 17, 2011

WORLD NEWS - After the denial of bail in a sex assault case in a New York City courtroom Monday, there is another brewing. In a recent comment by a possibly a Socialist candidate, who is also believed to be a close associate of Strauss-Kahn in France presidential election, said Saturday the IMF chief was persecuted for a smear campaign by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s camp.

Socialist politician Jean-Marie Le Guen expressed in his interview said Mr. Sarkozy totally planned an organized campaign to taint the character of his main rival in next year election. He said the Elysee (Sarkozy’s office) structured for months to clear out the idea how they would attack (his) personal character.

Jean Veil, Strauss-Kahn's lawyer said he would probably file a legal action against a French newspaper, questioning about the lifestyle of his client. He further added that the newspaper produced several inaccurate details such a possession of suits from a luxury tailor in Washington and described him a worker from US President Barack Obama.

"His suits are perfectly normal and allegations which are now spread regularly throughout the media are both fabrications and now clearly defamatory," Le Guen said.

It is noted that in a recent opinion polls suggested Mr. Strauss-Kahn would win the Socialist Party primaries against French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

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IMF’s Strauss-Kahn Sex Charge Allegations

Internal Auditors Blame World Bank For Slow Progress In East Timor

East Timor Family

By ONE liners Agency

INDONESIA/ EAST TIMOR NEWS - A recent draft, yet to be released publicly revealed a candid evaluation by the World Bank’s internal auditors, saying World Bank has be deficient in helping international organizations trying to help struggling nations. The draft, which particularly blames World Bank for its slow development in East Timor, which freed in 1999 after a long fought independence struggle from Indonesia.

However, the draft also exemplifies the problems caused to international organizations to meet the urgent needs of the nation while ensuring a proper utilization of donor’s money. This took a long and tedious process of evaluation of money, ensuring it is not misspent.

The review is done by the Independent Evaluation Group, which reports directly to the World Bank directors, covers the period from 2000 to 2010. The report also says due to bank own stiff procurement rules, it delayed the opening of four desperately needed hospitals for a year. It is reported that the mortality rate of children in East Timor is highest in Southeast Asia.

The report also blames the bank for not supporting the educational system and postponed to build and repair schools. The bank was also biased about the new government who requested to distribute the teaching materials in Portuguese because it had been the primary language before the Indonesian occupation, when East Timor was a Portuguese colony. The report has stressed on the importance of English or indigenous textbook, which could be more functional.

The report also asserts that the bank overlooked its explicit goal of fighting poverty, providing loan to needy nations for their social projects. In East Timor, the government saved money from its petroleum revenue rather than investing on its social development. As a result it contributed to high levels of poverty.

An estimated 70 percent of East Timor’s economic wealth had been destroyed in years of fighting for independence. At present the poverty in the country as double of Indonesia’s level.

Ferid Belhaj, the World Bank’s director for East Timor declined to comment on the report, saying the evaluation was not final. However, he said that the nation has tremendously improved economically and socially in the past decades.