Rebuilding Iraq

MAKASSAR: The World Bank (WB) has a role to play in helping Iraq rebuild, its chief Paul Wolfowitz said, “The Iraqi people deserve a peaceful, stable country and the World Bank has a contribution to make clearly on the development side.” The contribution could be in the form of shared advice and expertise as much as in financial assistance, he said, speaking during a visit to Indonesia. “They are trying to get ministries that were fundamentally corrupted and are trying to rebuild those things almost from scratch and they need a lot of advice and support from us,” he said. — AFP

Probe in Hyundai

SEOUL: The head of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor, Chung Mong-Koo, on Saturday cut short a visit to the US and returned home to face questioning over bribery allegations. Upon returning from a week-long stay in the US, Chung apologised for causing concern to the public but said he had no knowledge of an alleged slush fund that prosecutors are investigating. “I don’t know,” he replied when asked by reporters, “I understand an investigation by prosecution authorities is going on now and I will be ready to answer their questions.” — AFP