FIJI: Women Sidelined By Military Regime

Fiji, a multi-racial, multi-cultural country of 300 islands in the South Pacific, has undergone another coup - the fourth in 22 years. The women of Fiji want their voices to be heard as they work on ways to bring peace back to their country, and they are asking for the United Nations to support their efforts.

Q&A: Fujimori Will Serve "At Least 18 Years"

It is highly unlikely that the Peruvian Supreme Court will overturn or reduce the 25-year sentence handed down to former president Alberto Fujimori, because the verdict is well-supported, said chief prosecutor José Antonio Peláez.

ECONOMY-INDIA: Tax Haven Loot Turns Election Issue*

General elections currently being contested in India have brought an unusual issue to the fore - the repatriation of more than a trillion dollars believed to have been stashed away in Swiss and other tax havens.

COLOMBIA: Paramilitary Chief Says He Helped Finance Uribe’s Campaign

Former Colombian paramilitary chief and drug lord Diego Murillo, alias "Don Berna", testified in a U.S. court that he helped finance President Álvaro Uribe’s first election campaign, in 2002.

POLITICS-US: Prominent Lawmaker Caught Up In AIPAC Scandal

A U.S. government investigation of Israeli spying caught a prominent Democratic congresswoman discussing what is alleged to be a "quid pro quo" deal involving the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington’s powerful hawkish pro-Israel lobby.

CHINA: Macau Gaming Boom at a Cost

Beijing’s decade-old flirt with lucrative gambling in the booming casino town of Macau has gone decidedly sour.

LIBERIA: Wild West – the Sinoe Rubber Plantation

"We organised security throughout the camp. If there was noise in the plantation we would call the person and carry out an investigation," the man known as ‘White Flower’ tells IPS. "Then the superintendent said they should arrest me and my crew."

PHILIPPINES: Government Must Stop Davao Death Squad

Alleged "death squads" are responsible for hundreds of targeted killings in Davao City and other cities on the Philippine island of Mindanao, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Tuesday.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: Refugees Suffering in Kenyan Camps

In early March, Amina Ayanna Yusuf strapped her two-year-old son to her back and set off for the Kenyan border with her small savings.

FINANCE: Tax Havens in Spotlight at G20 Meet

This could be the moment when a fatal blow is delivered to the world's tax havens. Or it could be another largely cosmetic change that allows offshore financial centres such as Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and Liechtenstein to deflect attacks on the system by sacrificing the few tax miscreants that governments catch in their nets.

MINING-AFRICA: Help Yourself, There's Plenty

The African continent is rich in natural resources; but the terms under which multinational companies exploit these resources mean that governments - and Africa’s people - enjoy only a tiny fraction of the benefits.

MEXICO: "Who Will Help Us?"

Pilar identified seven drug traffickers who allegedly gunned down 12 young people and a baby on a street in the picturesque tourist town of Creel in August in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. The authorities also know who they are. But not one of the suspects has been arrested.

Q&A: ‘‘Arms Deal Scandal Threatens Democracy in South Africa’’

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) vilified politician and former anti-apartheid trade unionist Patricia de Lille when she made allegations about graft in the country’s notorious multi-billion dollar deal with British, French, Italian, German and Swedish arms manufacturers back in 1999.

DEVELOPMENT: Corruption Drains Water…

Several civil society organisations are planning anti-corruption drives to combat the wheeling-dealing considered a major factor in the world water crisis.

FIJI: Caught Between Coups and Corruption

The December 2006 coup, Fiji's fourth in less than 20 years, was dubbed a "cleanup campaign" by military commander Frank Bainimarama, now Fiji's interim prime minister.

ENVIRONMENT-NAMIBIA: Ten Dollars for a 200-Year-Old Tree

Despite the investment of millions of donor dollars, the permit system in Namibia’s Community Forests has failed dismally, say biodiversity experts. Illegal logging in the inland Kavango is more alive than ever.

RIGHTS-PERU: Spying on Social Movements

Business Track, a private security firm, was engaged in spying on non-governmental organisations, environmental activists, social movements and opposition groups in Peru, sources in the police, prosecutor’s office and courts investigating the case told IPS.

FINANCE: Major Banks Grease Wheels for Corrupt Regimes

Some of the world's leading banks facilitate corruption in the poorest countries, charges a new report by Global Witness, an independent watchdog group.

CORRUPTION-US: Homeowner Rip-Offs Spark Scores of Lawsuits

Many of the biggest mortgage lenders in the U.S. have engaged in widespread, systematic schemes that ripped off hundreds of thousands of families seeking to buy a home, refinance or foreclose, according to lawsuits filed on behalf of consumers.

MALAYSIA: Sleaze, Betrayals, Threats Mar Politics

Sex scandals, political betrayals, threats and anger at the once revered monarchy - suddenly politics in Malaysia, after a sterling start last year which saw a strong opposition in parliament, is taking an ominous turn.

MEDIA-EAST TIMOR: Minister, Editor Wrangle On Over Expose

East Timor's justice minister says she will file a civil liability case against newspaper editor Jose Belo, if criminal defamation charges do not make it in court.