CHINA: Communist Resort Makeover Mirrors State’s Populist Shift?

The summer capital of China's political intrigue is taking a break from the years of intense infighting and maneuvering that Chinese communist leaders used to engage in while hidden in their secluded villas.

MEXICO: Priests Targeted in Drug-Related and Other Violence

The priesthood has joined journalism as one of the most dangerous occupations in Mexico, according to a report by the Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference.

SOUTH AFRICA: Price Fixing Can Land Company Directors in Jail

A series of high-profile cases in which big South African companies have been found guilty of fixing the prices of even basic foodstuffs have led to the adoption of a new law that will allow directors and managers to be sent to jail for 10 years or receive a fine of 45,000 euros.

RIGHTS-INDIA: Judging the Judges’ Wealth

By agreeing to make public details of their personal wealth, judges of India’s Supreme Court have conceded ground that could lead to better accountability in a judicial system set up under British colonial rule.

COLOMBIA: From Espionage to Sabotage – and the Dirty War (Part 3)

For decades now, privacy in personal electronic communications has existed only on paper. But the most serious aspect of the espionage scandal that broke this year in Colombia lies in the use given to the information that was gathered.

LATIN AMERICA: Investigative Journalists Show Their Mettle

"One way of ensuring the future of journalism is to improve content quality, and this means investigating what is deliberately hidden, like corruption," said Gerardo Reyes, a reporter for the Miami newspaper El Nuevo Herald, on a visit to the Peruvian capital.

FINANCE-US: “Vulture Funds” Prey on Poor Debtor Nations

Fifty advocacy organisations are calling on the U.S. Congress to put a stop to investment funds which purchase heavily indebted countries' debt and jeopardise the impact of bilateral and multilateral debt cancellation to over 30 countries.

AFGHANISTAN: Karzai and Warlords Mount Massive Vote Fraud Scheme

Afghanistan's presidential election has long been viewed by U.S. officials as a key to conferring legitimacy on the Afghan government, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his powerful warlord allies have planned to commit large-scale electoral fraud that could have the opposite effect.

GUATEMALA: Impunity, Corruption Drive Wave of Kidnappings

Byron Ranulfo Rustrián was just 12 years old. He loved playing football and was a good student. On Jul. 23, a group of youngsters he didn't know invited him to play a match and he agreed, but it was a trap: he was kidnapped and his body turned up five days later.

AFRICA: Ethiopia’s Pop Star Out of Jail, to Stage Big Concert

He has not yet decided where and when it will be, but Ethiopia’s sensational musician Tewodros Kassahun a.k.a. Teddy-Afro, will stage a major concert for the first time after his release from controversial imprisonment.

RIGHTS-UGANDA: Women Score Victory Against Gender-Based Violence

Women are celebrating a hard-won victory for gender rights after intense public protests led to today’s re-arrest of the country’s police boss – a self-confessed wife-killer.

NIGER: Foreign Investments in Uranium Polluting Politics

The reform of Niger's constitution to allow president Mamadou Tandja to remain in power beyond his original mandate and even become president for life, was motivated by the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into the West African country as a consequence of opaque foreign, especially French, investments in the local uranium mines.

EAST TIMOR: Tackling Corruption Head On

After a string of corruption allegations were levelled against Xanana Gusmao’s coalition government, a civil society organization in East Timor Thursday launched an anti-corruption campaign it says will help tackle East Timor's endemic corruption head on.

MEDIA: U.S. Rights Groups Condemn Closure of Venezuelan Radio Stations

Several U.S. rights groups condemned the closure of 34 radio stations, as well as the proposal of restrictive media legislation, by Venezuelan authorities Monday.

ARGENTINA: Kidnappings, Threats Target Child Rights Campaign

Youngsters involved in a network of social organisations working with street kids and disadvantaged youths, as part of its "Hunger Is a Crime" campaign, have been the targets of eight kidnappings and dozens of death threats in the last 16 months.

AFGHANISTAN: Child Rapist Police Return Behind U.S., UK Troops

The strategy of the major U.S. and British military offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand province aimed at wresting it from the Taliban is based on bringing back Afghan army and police to maintain permanent control of the population, so the foreign forces can move on to another insurgent stronghold.

AFGHANISTAN: Govt Denies Legal Inequality

The head of the Afghan Supreme Court, Mohammad Zaman Sangri, denies that a legal double standard exists in Afghanistan, saying that all Afghans receive equal treatment before the law.

AFGHANISTAN: Rape – The Most Vulnerable Victims of Corruption

Being powerful in Afghanistan does not only mean that you can break the laws of government. It also means that you can abuse your fellow citizens in the most awful ways and never be punished.

AFGHANISTAN: Two Justice Systems for Poor and Rich

Three weeks ago, Afghan President Hamid Karzai pardoned five international narcotics traffickers after the Supreme Court found the men guilty and handed down a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison.

DR-CONGO: Firms Fuelling 'Conflict Minerals' Violence, Report Says

Several international companies are named as helping to prolong the more than 12-year conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a new report by the British-based group Global Witness, released Tuesday.

PERU: Fujimori Loses First Corruption Trial

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison Monday for giving 15 million dollars in public funds to his security chief Vladimiro Montesinos in the last few weeks of his government.