CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Gov’t Pays Only Lip Service to the War on Corruption

To campaigners in Kenya, the New Year starts with a feeling of dissatisfaction at how the government of President Mwai Kibaki has ignored its own anti-corruption campaign.

POLITICS: UN to Protect Corruption Whistle-Blowers

After being politically crucified over charges of malfeasance and mismanagement, the U.N. Secretariat has responded with a new "whistle-blower protection policy" aimed at encouraging staffers, contractors, consultants and even the public to help expose corruption in the world body.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: The Year of Innocence Lost in Brazil

For many Brazilians, 2005 will be the year when corruption invaded national politics like never before, thanks to the scandal that erupted seven months ago at the heart of the ruling leftist Workers Party (PT), long viewed as a champion of ethical integrity.

POLITICS-PERU: The Usual Suspects

A mantle of corruption and impunity has begun to cast a shadow over the campaign for Peru's April presidential elections, despite the fact that the candidates have not even been officially registered yet.

MALAYSIA: Addicts Buying Dangerous Drug ‘Cocktails’ at Clinics

From the outside it appears like any other private medical clinic, though a little shabby. But a closer look reveals something unusual.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Scandal Soup Nears Boiling Point

If the fact that millions turned out to vote in the recent elections in Iraq was considered a victory for the George W. Bush administration, the joy was short-lived in Washington, as early election returns showed that the country will likely be in the hands of Shiite and Sunni religious parties for at least the next four years.

POLITICS-US/IRAQ: Pentagon Flunks Rebuilding 101

After a thousand days of widely acknowledged failure in the job of rebuilding Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defence has been quietly relieved of that responsibility, with the State Department taking over as Washington's lead reconstruction agency and coordinating the work of all other government departments.

POLITICS-US: The Exotic Adventures of Neil Bush

These days, while President George W. Bush is all about convincing the U.S. public that he has a "Plan for Victory" in Iraq, his younger brother, Neil, is all about taking advantage of the family name.

POLITICS: Anti-Bribery Treaty Takes Root Amid Doubts

The much-ballyhooed U.N. Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), aimed at rooting out bribery and corruption worldwide, has a long way to go before it can be successfully implemented by the 191 member states.

RIGHTS: Who Do You Believe In Any More?

A global public opinion survey shows people losing faith in governments, business and even non-governmental organisations.

CORRUPTION-ARGENTINA: Many Crimes, Few Convictions

Fraud, graft, money laundering. In the past 25 years, at least 750 legal cases involving corruption have been prosecuted in Argentina, but a mere three percent have ended in a conviction. In a majority of the cases the statute of limitations has run out, or is about to do so, due to flaws in the justice system, experts say.

RIGHTS-THAILAND: Raw Deal for Food Hawkers

Hawking fresh fruit on busy Sukhumvit Road, Nu-Han, 29, makes a tidy 500 baht (12 US dollars) in daily profit - which is more than what a smart, front desk receptionist at a luxury hotel earns in this bustling megacity of 6.5 million people.

CORRUPTION-SOUTH AFRICA: Some Good News – and Some Bad

South Africa has made progress in the fight against corruption, but more needs to be done to eradicate the vice, say analysts - this as the world marks International Anti-Corruption Day, Friday.

CORRUPTION-PERU: Drug Trafficking Digs In Its Heels

Seventeen months after the U.S. government included Peruvian airline businessman Fernando Zevallos on its list of international drug trafficking bosses, the Peruvian judicial system plucked up the courage to order his arrest and has begun to take a closer look at the social influence wielded by this illegal trade.

POLITICS-KENYA: Out With the Old, In With the (Mostly) Old

Kenya's new cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in at 10.00 local time (07.00 GMT) Friday. It promises to be a shorter ceremony than usual: two ministers and 17 assistant ministers have already declined invitations to join the cabinet.

PAKISTAN: Army’s Role in Quake Relief Under Flak

Pakistan’s army, which came under heavy criticism for not acting fast enough to help survivors of the Oct.8 earthquake, in now under flak for its control over a donor-driven, multi-billion dollar, relief and rehabilitation programme.

CORRUPTION-PERU: Fujimori Family Secret Bank Accounts Uncovered

Anti-corruption authorities in Peru have discovered numerous secret bank accounts holding up to 4.5 million dollars in the names of former Peruvian ambassador to Japan Víctor Aritomi and his wife Rosa Fujimori, former president Alberto Fujimori's sister.

POLITICS-THAILAND: Talking About a Coup

Judging by the language of the independent press, this week, and the chatter among the capital city’s political class, anyone would be led to believe that Thailand is teetering on the brink of a coup d'etat.

DEVELOPMENT: Iraq Warned Against “Straitjacket” Oil Deals

Oil exploration deals currently being negotiated between the Washington-backed Iraqi government and multinational oil companies could cost Iraqis up to 194 billion dollars in lost revenues and transfer more than two-thirds of the country's oil reserves to the control of foreign firms, a new report warns.

POLITICS-US: Democrats, NGOs Assail “Crony” Appointees

Critics of the George W. Bush administration are charging that recent appointments suggest that the president has failed to learn from the Katrina disaster and the Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court, and continues to favour political loyalty over qualifications and competence.

GUATEMALA/US: The Brotherhood of the Traveling Powder

The alert to the U.S. Border Patrol went out across the state of Texas this past July - about 30 suspects who were once part of an elite unit of the Guatemalan special forces were training drug traffickers in paramilitary tactics just over the border from McAllen.