Africa
Unfair to say China's aid leads to Africa's corruption, huge debts - Zambian FM
Xinhua, China
Zambian Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande has hit out at recent accusations that China's aid to Africa contributes to the problems of corruption and government debt on the continent. Pande referred to China’s loans as “soft loans” because they did not come with the same “difficult conditions” that other donors attached. He also praised China's aid saying that it had helped Africa to build more infrastructure.
Asia
CVC to inspect more CWG-related works
Times of India, India
After finding alleged financial irregularities in 16 projects related to of the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Central Vigilance Commission, India’s anti-corruption body, is likely to expand the scope of its probe to include other works by government and civic agencies in New Delhi. The team is re-examining all the tenders floated by the different civic and construction agencies after it noticed misappropriation, inflated prices and tampering with post-tender documents by some government employees.
India's anti-corruption fight gets deadly
Asia Times, Hong Kong
The killing of Amit Jethwa in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad last week ironically highlighted the success of India’s Right to Information Act (RTI) in fighting corruption. Jethwa, an anti-corruption activist, was using the RTI Act to probe illegal limestone mining in the region when he was shot dead outside the city's high court on July 20. In January this year, RTI activist Satish Shetty was murdered outside his house in Pune, near Mumbai. An anti-corruption activist of 15 years, Shetty was exposing the local real-estate mafia. Both men were attempting to use the RTI to obtain information from governmental agencies.
Europe
John under investigation for corruption
The Prague Post, Czech Republic
The coalition government has been rocked after police were requested to launch an investigation into Interior Minister Radek John over allegations of corruption. The request by the Central Registry of Debtors to the police focuses on allegedly overpriced contracts involving a publishing company that John was linked to, an insurance company and state forestry company Lesy CR.
Latin America
Panama police to get second pay rise
Newsroom Panama, Panama
Panama’s president, Ricardo Martinelli has promised that the country's police officers will get a second pay rise in the 2011 budget. The latest increase was suggested by the Crusade for Peace, a civic organization advising the government on security issues. One of the group's 14 recent proposals was to increase wages for police to help eliminate corruption.
North America
US Attorney General announces plans to pursue 'kleptocrats'
Wall Street Journal, United States
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced an enforcement initiative targeting public corruption abroad during a speech to African leaders in Kampala, Uganda. The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative will focus on combating large-scale corruption by foreign government officials and will recover money stolen by those officials intended for the people, Holder said.
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