Q&A: “Karzai Assigned a Rabbit to Take Care of the Carrot”

In the aftermath of national elections widely condemned as fraudulent, the United States and its allies are wondering what to do about Afghanistan.

NICARAGUA: Despite Efforts, Corruption Still a Problem

Two national surveys and the latest report on perceptions of corruption by Transparency International support the view that a culture of graft continues to undermine the foundations of Nicaraguan society, in spite of efforts to fight the problem in the last few years.

AFGHANISTAN: Black & Veatch’s White Elephant in Kabul

In a secluded valley a few miles from Kabul's international airport, Caterpillar turbines custom-built in Germany and giant transformers flown in from Mexico hum away at a brand-new power plant.

CORRUPTION: Paying Off Afghanistan’s Warlords

Every morning, dozens of trucks laden with diesel from Turkmenistan lumber out of the northern Afghan border town of Hairaton on a two-day trek across the Hindu Kush down to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

CORRUPTION-SIERRA LEONE: Song Sparks Governance Debate

Nothing has ever sparked a debate on the state of governance in the country like the song released by one of Sierra Leone’s most popular artists, Emerson Bockarie.

CORRUPTION: Afghanistan, Iraq Near Bottom of Transparency Index

Despite billions of dollars spent by the U.S. and other countries to improve governance in Afghanistan and Iraq, the two countries remain among the world's most corrupt nations, according to the latest edition of Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

PERU: Vice President Accused of Corruption

Vice President Luis Giampietri, accused of taking a hand in irregular arms deals in the 1990s, has the dubious distinction of being the highest-ranking member of the Peruvian government to face criminal charges for corruption.

MEXICO: DNA Tool to Trace Missing Kids

Andrea C. was eight years old when two unidentified women took her from her home in a neighbourhood on the north side of the Mexican capital, in September 2005. Four years later, she is still missing.

POLITICS: Corruption in Afghanistan Cuts Both Ways

Unfortunately for both Afghans and Americans, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Barack Obama, his counterpart in Washington, missed a chance to reset the critical relationship between their two countries and move the dialogue in an honest direction.

SRI LANKA: IMF’s 2.6-B Dollar Loan Deal in Peril if Opposition Wins

With parliamentary and presidential elections just a few months away, conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an ongoing 2.6-billion U.S. dollar loan facility could be swept aside if Sri Lanka’s opposition captured power.

POLITICS: U.S. Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet

The Barack Obama administration is talking tough to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the need for decisive action on corruption and governance reform, but its main objective is to prevent particularly corrupt and incompetent warlords from getting plum ministries as rewards for helping clinch his fraudulent reelection, IPS has learned.

RIGHTS-MEXICO: Military Abuses Brought to Inter-American Commission

A case of rights abuses allegedly committed by the Mexican armed forces is coming up for a hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), where it joins a long list of accusations against the army in this Latin American country.

GUATEMALA: Controversy Dogs New Highway

Construction is expected to begin soon on a new highway across north-central Guatemala, the largest infrastructure project tackled so far by the government of Álvaro Colom.

ZIMBABWE: Watchdog Groups Urge Ban on Diamond Exports

The past week brought new scrutiny of Zimbabwe's human rights record with the deportation of a senior U.N. official sent to investigate torture there, and demands by a coalition of civil society groups that the international community address human rights violations stemming from Zimbabwe's lucrative diamond industry.

PHILIPPINES: ‘Running After President Arroyo Is Only Just’

Philippine political affairs are rarely straightforward. The former Spanish and U.S. colony, which also endured occupation under Japan during the Second World War, has experienced major upheavals since independence was finally achieved—and recognised, this time—in 1946.

BRAZIL: Drugs, Guns, Gangs and Police – a Violent Mix in the ‘Favelas’

Janaína*, who lives in Jacarezinho, one of the most violent "favelas" or shantytowns in this Brazilian city, describes the control that the "movement" – the local drug mafia – exercises over the neighbourhood and local residents.

GUATEMALA: Despite Flaws, Judge Selection Process Improved, Say NGOs

A new process aimed at making the selection of judges more transparent in Guatemala failed to block the appointment of several candidates who were questioned by civil society and a U.N.-sponsored commission set up to strengthen and purge the country's justice system.

MEXICO: Int’l Tribunal ‘Scandalised’ by Denials of Workers’ Rights

On the day his trade union section held elections for officials, "our offices were occupied, damaged and ransacked" by thugs from the executive committee of the National Teachers Union (SNTE), said Mexican teacher Gerardo Cruz, a leader in the CNTE, a dissident caucus seeking reform within the union.

PHILIPPINES: Amid Disasters’ Rubble, Accusations Hound President

Even in the wake of the tropical storms that lashed the northern parts of the Philippines recently, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took time out to visit her home province.

ECONOMY-AFRICA: Pros and Cons to Huge Chinese Investment in DRC

Concerns abound about a nine billion dollar Chinese investment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially around environmental consequences and transparency. And, on the Chinese side, investors complain not only about the lack of security in the DRC but about their own government not providing enough support.

AFGHANISTAN: The Cheap Way to Hell

For the last three weeks, 30-year-old Ghulam Nabi has lain in a Kabul hospital bed, suffering. His face is etched with hopelessness, loneliness and despair over the life he once had and has now lost forever.