Arab states named as more corrupt

An anti-corruption group says three Arab states are among a dozen worldwide where corruption has seen a significant increase in the past year.

The Arab nations named by Transparency International were Jordan and the Gulf states of Bahrain and Oman.

The Arab countries with the least perceived corruption were Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Places with a history of civil conflict - such as Burma, Iraq and Somalia - were rated the worst for corruption.

Doing Business

The survey ranked 180 countries on a scale of one to 10 based on the perceptions of business people and analysts.

The best were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand.

Bahrain was 46th with a score of five out of 10, while Jordan and Oman both scored 4.7 to be equal 53rd.

Last year's rankings gave Bahrain a score of 5.7 (36th position), Oman 5.4 (39th position) and Jordan 5.3 (40th position).

Scores below five indicate "serious" perceived levels of corruption, the agency said, while scores below three reflect "rampant" corruption.

Separately, the Word Bank's annual Doing Business report put Egypt at the top of the list of reformers who had cut red tape and improved trading conditions.

Cairo greatly improved its position with reforms in five of the 10 areas studied by the report, the bank said.

It had slashed minimum capital requirements from E£50,000 ($8,950) to E£1,000 and halved the time and cost of start-ups.

It also cut property registration fees, and set up one-stop shops for traders at the ports, and cut import and export times.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7014797.stm

Published: 2007/09/26 17:55:41 GMT

Iran: US is world's real threat

The American and Israeli delegations were not in chamber to hear Ahmadinejad's speech [AFP]
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has accused the US of being the world's "real threat" and defended his country's nuclear programme.

In a 40-minute speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Ahmadinejad accused Washington and its allies of carrying out human rights abuses.

He said: "Human rights are being extensively violated by certain powers, especially by those who pretend to be their exclusive advocates.

"Setting up secret prisons, abducting persons, trials and secret punishments without any regard to due process ... have become commonplace."

'Rights sacrificed'

"The rights and dignity of the American people are also being sacrificed for the selfish desires of those holding power," he added.


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Ahmadinejad also used his speech to say the issue of Iran's nuclear programme was "closed" and should be handled by the UN nuclear watchdog.

Without specifically naming them, he accused Washington and its allies of bullying Iran - which they say is trying to develop nuclear weapons - and putting pressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for their own purposes.

Ahmadinejad said: "Fortunately, the IAEA has recently tried to regain its legal role as supporter of the rights of its members while supervising nuclear activities.

"Today, because of the resistance of the Iranian nation, the issue is back to the agency, and I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter," he said, adding Iran was prepared to have "constructive talks with all parties".

US silent

Addressing the General Assembly earlier in the session George Bush, the US president, made little reference to Iran.

Instead, both Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Nicholas Sarkozy, the French president, sought to increase pressure on the Islamic republic, saying they would not accept a nuclear-armed Iran.

Merkel, said: "if Iran were to acquire the nuclear bomb, the consequences would be disastrous."

Sarkozy told the session: "Iran is entitled to nuclear power for civilian purposes, but to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapon is an unacceptable risk to the stability of the region and the stability of the world."

Iraq invasion criticised

Ahmadinejad also used his speech to criticise the US-led invasion of Iraq, which he said was "occupied under the pretext of overthrowing the dictator and the existence of weapons of mass destruction".

He criticised the UN Security Council for being an exclusive club answerable to no one, saying that those in power were in the "sunset of their times".

He also voiced support for the Palestinians, saying: "The Palestinian people have been displaced or are under heavy military pressure, economic siege or are incarcerated under abhorrent conditions.

"The occupiers are protected and praised, while the innocent Palestinians are subjected to political, military and propaganda onslaughts."

Neither the US nor the Israeli delegation stayed to listen to the Iranian leader's speech.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FB085194-ABDC-4D1C-82C4-8F24FAAFA8CC.htm