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Thursday, July 2, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Corruption
GREECE: Social Security Reforms Spark Unrest
Millions of workers participated in a general strike Wednesday on the eve of a parliament vote on pension and social security reforms. Despite vehement opposition, the government voted the reform through with 151 votes, the absolute minimum required for passing the legislation.KYRGYZSTAN: Opposition Runs Separate Parliament
A nation of five million, Kyrgyzstan has ended up with two parliaments: the official one, and the second that many consider the more legitimate one.MALAYSIA: Poll Setback Finally Prompts Reforms
His political career seriously threatened by the outcome of this month’s general elections, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi seems ready to institute badly needed reforms, going by his inclusion of some of his bitterest critics in the new cabinet.WEST AFRICA: Check Point ''Friendships'' Hobble Regional Trade
''Give It To God''. These are the words inscribed on the front of the huge truck that goods transporter David Agbalanyo drives between the Ghanaian capital Accra and its northern neighbour, Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.BULGARIA: A Way to Manufacture Ethnic Tension
Take a population frustrated by poverty and corruption. Add the anti-minority discourse of extreme-right parties. And spice it with anti-Islamic talk of the 'war on terror'. And in just a few years, you can have enough ethnic tensions.CHINA: ‘Reshuffling the Mandarins Won’t Stem Corruption’
China’s leaders are poised to unveil a proposal for creating super-ministries in the hope that centralised power can help overcome regional and industrial opposition to their plans for more moderate growth and better environmental protection.POLITICS-PAKISTAN: End Game For Musharraf?
Throwing a serious challenge to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf the two main victorious parties in the Feb.18 general elections have jointly pledged to reinstate all 63 senior judges, sacked for refusing to recognise his Nov.3 emergency order.POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Plans Afoot to Rig Polls Say Opposition Parties
Malaysia's Election Commission (EC) has dramatically scrapped a plan to use indelible ink to prevent multiple voting and stop phantom voters, provoking a storm of protests among opposition parties, which were expecting to make major gains at the polls on Saturday.GERMANY: Corruption Feeds the New Market
The revelation that hundreds of wealthy Germans have made illegal investments in Liechtenstein to avoid taxes, and the unearthing of new cases of corruption in top enterprises, raise new questions about the way the market economy is going.PAKISTAN: Musharraf Stalling Gov’t Formation – Political Parties
The leaders of Pakistan’s two main political parties, that emerged victorious in the Feb. 18 general elections, are accusing President Pervez Musharraf of trying to subvert the formation of a coalition government.SRI LANKA: NGO Scam Spotlights Cozy Funding Deals
An internal feud at Sri Lanka's best known non-governmental organisation (NGO), over alleged mismanagement and financial irregularities, has snowballed into wider issues of lack of transparency, corruption and cozy relationships between funding agencies and recipients.POLITICS-PAKISTAN: 'Inter Services Intelligence Interferes in Polls'
A former top official of Pakistan's shadowy but powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has called for the political cell of the agency to be shut down and 'confessed' to having manipulated the 2002 general elections at the behest of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.KOSOVO: Challenged State Faces an Uncertain Future
As the euphoria over the proclamation of independence slowly dissipates, Kosovars will have to focus on the enormous political and economic challenges corruption, poverty and an angry Serbia will pose to statehood.
POLITICS-BANGLADESH: Calls to Restore Democracy Grow
Pressure is mounting on Bangladesh's military-backed interim government, both internally and internationally, to lift the state of emergency, imposed over a year ago, suspending political activity and fundamental rights.Q&A: "I Fear That Chad Will One Day Lose Its Sovereignty"
In the wake of a failed rebel attack three weeks ago, the Chadian capital of N'Djamena is feeling the effects of a clampdown on opposition leaders, activists and reporters - this as authorities scour the city for any remaining rebels.
POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Voting For Change
With unofficial results for Pakistan’s general elections heralding major upsets for President Pervez Musharraf’s allies, the message was loud and clear: despite the pre-poll manipulations and irregularities voters have rejected the politics of hate and religious extremism.
POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Voters Get Carrots, Sticks in Lacklustre Polls
Voter apathy marked Monday’s general elections that were accompanied by allegations of massive manipulations and violence on the one hand and lofty promises of development and cash gifts by some candidates on the other.
POLITICS-TANZANIA: No Spending on Those Who Steal, Says Bush
U.S. President George W. Bush, on a five-nation tour of Africa, has showered praise on the anti-corruption efforts of Tanzania's president, Jakaya Kikwete - whose government is receiving substantial aid from Washington.POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Massive Manipulation Of Poll Process Alleged
Although many Pakistanis see Monday’s polls as an opportunity to move forward, away from military interference in politics, the pre-poll process has taken place amid allegations of massive rigging and manipulation.POLITICS-PAKISTAN: 'AG Tape Confirms Vote Rigging Fears'
"The Attorney General is famous for saying things that somehow get 'providentially' taped," said Wajihuddin Ahmed, a former supreme court judge, commenting on the tape that has Malik Qayyum predicting that the Feb. 18 elections are going to be ''massively rigged''.POLITICS-US: Bush’s Budget Sidelines Transparency
President George W. Bush’s critics are charging that he is attempting to use a "backdoor signing statement" to thwart Congress’ desire to lift the veil of secrecy that has shrouded the U.S. Government for the past seven years.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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