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  • 14/04/2005

hawkish control: US president George W Bush has raised a controversy by nominating US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank (WB). Wolfowitz, a staunch supporter of the Iraq war, is considered a neo-conservative, hawkish figure in the Bush administration. Earlier this month, Bush appointed another hardliner, under-secretary of state John Bolton, as the US ambassador to the UN. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, WB's former chief economist, is among the many opponents of Wolfowitz's nomination: "Choosing the right general in the war against poverty will not assure victory, but choosing the wrong one surely increases the chances of failure,' he said.

aircraft norms: The UN's Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization recently adopted stricter norms to check smog-producing air pollutants. The standards, pertaining to new oxides of nitrogen, are 12 per cent more stringent than earlier. They would be enforced in 2008. The move is a part of the UN's effort to reduce aircraft emissions that pollute the air in urban areas and contribute to global warming. The Council has issued increasingly tough norms for aircraft engine emissions and also recommended clean practices to them since 1981.

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