CENTRAL AMERICA: The World’s Most Violent Region

Although the UNDP's Report on Human Development in Central America 2009-2010 says the region has the highest rates of non-political crime in the world, there are nevertheless plenty of opportunities to improve public security, analysts and experts say.

ZAMBIA: Holding Government Responsible for Spending

The recent change of the budget cycle to allow government to effectively spend money to develop the country is not good enough unless those in charge of the money are made accountable, say civil society.

AFRICA: Government on Collision Course with Civil Society

The acquittal of former President Frederick Chiluba on charges of theft after a seven-year long landmark case, and the refusal by the Zambian government to appeal, has put government and civil society on a collision course.

EAST TIMOR: Slow Progress for Corruption Watchdog

A lack of political will to tackle corruption in East Timor is holding the country back, said Sebastiao Ximenes, East Timor’s Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice.

SIERRA LEONE: Journalists at War with Highest Court

Umaru Fofana looks dishevelled. His hair is overgrown and people who do not know him could be mistaken for thinking he just joined an Afro band. And his hanging beard will surely solicit suspicious glances.

POLITICS: U.N. Infighting Threatens to Upstage Afghan War

The increasingly deadly battle between Western military forces and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan is on the verge of being upstaged by a growing political brawl between two senior U.N. officials overseeing the battle-ravaged South Asian nation.

US-ZIMBABWE: Yearlong Sanctions Bring Few Reforms

More than a year after the signing of an agreement to bring democracy to Zimbabwe, the United States continues to maintain sanctions against the southern African nation.

SOUTH AFRICA: New Regulations "Good and Bad" for Black Empowerment

The first decade of South Africa’s black economic empowerment (BEE) policies saw the creation of a predictable list of politically connected beneficiaries, featuring names such as Patrice Motsepe, Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale. Now new regulations may see other companies – including white-owned business – enter the BEE stage.

POLITICS: China Swaggers On, Yet Future Looks Uncertain

Showing off China’s new wealth and national might on the anniversary of the birth of the People’s Republic, the country’s leaders attributed its rise as a rejuvenated world power to the 60 years of communist rule.

Q&A: Heavy Vehicle Market Taking Off in Africa

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s recent official visit to a handful of African countries has provided new impetus to Russian business’s interest in the region.

CORRUPTION-SIERRA LEONE: Anti Graft Now in the Hands of Civil Society

The fight against corruption in Sierra Leone has taken on a new face. Government and civil society are now working together to stamp out rampant fraud.

PERU: Fujimori Admits Wiretapping, Bribery

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori pleaded guilty Monday to wiretapping opposition lawmakers and journalists, bribing legislators to switch over to his side in Congress, and using public funds to purchase a cable news channel to back up his reelection campaign.

MALAYSIA: Gov’t Urged to Stem the Tide of Child Trafficking

"My family was starving. . . . I was sold to people who brought me here to work and feed my family back home," said Ah Mun, a victim of child trafficking.

GUATEMALA: Making the Judge Selection Process More Transparent

In Guatemala, where corruption is so notorious that a U.N.-sponsored commission against impunity was set up to strengthen and purge the country's justice system, a new process has been put in place to make the selection of judges more transparent.

TRINIDAD: Radical Muslim Leader Sparks Corruption Probe

Ever since he literally blazed into the lives of Trinidadians when he led more than 100 armed followers in a failed attempt to remove the A.N.R. Robinson government in 1990, radical Muslim leader Yasin Abu Bakr has been able to taunt the country with impunity.

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Win Some, Lose Some for Beleaguered Penan Tribe

In wealthy Malaysia that employs over four million Asians to service its high- rolling lifestyle, a tiny indigenous tribe is fighting for its survival against state inaction and bureaucratic apathy, as well as marauding giant multinationals and timber loggers.

DRC: Electricity Lines Overhead But Never Seen a Light Bulb

"We produce electricity but we manage darkness. We have big energy sources of electricity but only 20 percent of the population has access to electricity because most of the energy is sold to foreign countries."

ARGENTINA: Corruption Cases Pick Up Speed

While the popularity of the Argentine government of President Cristina Fernández is waning, allegations of corruption against public officials have mushroomed.

Q&A: "Political Elites Ensure Continuing Flight of Dirty Money"

Illegal capital flight in the form of corrupt, criminal and illicit commercial proceeds out of developing economies could be as high as one trillion dollars a year.

RIGHTS-INDIA: Gujarat State on Trial for Extrajudicial Killings

When police in western Gujarat state claimed to have shot dead four members of the militant Lashkar-e-Toiba (Soldiers of God) group, otherwise known as LeT, including a 19-year-old girl student, on Jun. 15, 2004, in an ‘encounter,’ few believed them.

GUATEMALA: Nine Arrested for Murder that Caused Political Turmoil

Nine suspects, including police officers and members of the military, have been arrested in Guatemala for the murder of prominent lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, who had accused President Álvaro Colom of his murder in a video broadcast after his death.