The fight against corruption in Sierra Leone has taken on a new face. Government and civil society are now working together to stamp out rampant fraud.

At a ‘tra da’ (iced tea) stand in Hanoi’s Truc Bach area, men in baggy white singlets sit on low plastic stools drinking strong green tea poured from a chipped porcelain tea pot.

In early 2008, Saudi Arabia announced that, after being self-sufficient in wheat for over 20 years, the non-replenishable aquifer it had been pumping for irrigation was largely depleted.

The story line that dominated media coverage of the second Iranian uranium enrichment facility last week was the official assertion that U.S. intelligence had caught Iran trying to conceal a 'secret' nuclear facility.

In the wee hours of one Saturday morning, Mary Serumaga was woken up by a disturbing phone call. Her younger brother Robert Kalundi Serumaga had just been abducted by four unknown gun-wielding men the previous night.

After nine months of a rollercoaster ride pushing for a gender perspective on climate change, advocates are finally beginning to reap the fruits of their labour.

Chilean women’s organisations are not at all willing to lose what they have gained during the present government of President Michelle Bachelet. Aware of the importance of the female vote in the December presidential elections, they are seeking commitments from candidates to further progress for women.

Honduras's de facto government under the leadership of Roberto Micheletti is coming under increasing international pressure to restore civil liberties, reopen closed television stations, and negotiate a solution to the coup crisis that was brought to a head by the clandestine return of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who has been taking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa for the past week.

Addressing his monthly press conference Tuesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon refused to back a Western endorsement of a premature election victory for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, implicitly criticised Libyan Leader Muammar el-Qaddafi for denigrating the U.N. charter, and faulted Iran for lack of transparency in its nuclear programme.

The electoral authorities and allies of Honduras' de facto government in Congress have criticised the suspension of key civil liberties, while the top military chief called for talks between de facto President Roberto Micheletti and ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy since early last week.