NABUNTURAN, Mindanao, May 15 (IPS) - Outside the office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Compostela Valley province sits a pile of confiscated, milled hardwood -- a monument to the deforestation caused mainly by parties to a festering armed conflict.

JERUSALEM, May 13 (IPS) - Badly tarnished by his management of the Lebanon war in the summer of 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had begun, in recent months, to resurrect his public image. But a new corruption scandal in which he is being questioned by police has again undermined his credibility, and raised questions about his ability to govern effectively.

NEW YORK, May 12 (IPS) - In one of the more ironic episodes of the George W. Bush administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week raided the office and home of the senior official in charge of protecting federal whistleblowers on suspicion of whistleblower retaliation within his own agency -- while he was investigating possible criminal acts within the White House.

BRUSSELS, May 9 (IPS) - The often cosy relationship between corporate lobbyists and the Brussels bureaucracy was illustrated in the past few weeks as several members of the European Parliament (MEPs) prepared to visit Peru.

MEXICO CITY, May 7 (IPS) - Funds belonging to the Mexican state oil monopoly, Pemex, have paid in recent years for liposuction treatment for the wife of the company’s chief executive, a presidential candidate’s campaign, contracts with firms facing legal action, and the whims of trade union leaders who are not required to account for their expenses.

TEGUCIGALPA, May 6 (IPS) - Prosecutors in Honduras are on hunger strike to demand the dismissal of the attorney general and his deputy, for failure to investigate cases of corruption. Tension mounted when the president of Congress warned of possible intentions to break with the "constitutional order."

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 5 (IPS) - The Colorado Party has become a "criminal mafia" during its 61 years in government in Paraguay, and it will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in spite of its defeat in last month’s elections, says Anuncio Martí, a Paraguayan citizen living in exile in Brazil.

PRISTINA, May 5 (IPS) - The new government in Kosovo has failed so far to live up to its promise of fighting corruption.

FALLUJAH, May 2 (IPS) - Amidst unemployment and impoverishment, Iraqis now face a cutting down of their monthly food ration – much of it already eaten away by official corruption.

DHAKA, May 2 (IPS) - Bangladesh’s military-backed interim government hopes that a ‘truth commission’ it plans to set up will give tainted businessmen an opportunity to revive their businesses and help put a badly flagging economy back on the rails.

BRUSSELS, Apr 30 (IPS) - Tax havens in Europe are depriving poor countries of more money than they receive in development aid, it has been alleged.

BANGKOK, Apr 30 (IPS) - An environmental group is warning U.S. energy giant Chevron to clean up its act in Burma or face legal proceedings where the multinational’s links to gross human rights violations in the military-ruled country could be exposed.

WASHINGTON, Apr 29 (IPS) - Leading oil firms impede efforts to stamp out poverty and corruption by shrouding their financial dealings in secrecy, says a global watchdog.

SOFIA, Apr 15 (IPS) - Bulgarian minister of interior Roumen Petkov announced his resignation Sunday, in the midst of a row about connections between high-level Bulgarian officials -- especially from the Ministry of Interior -- and corrupt businessmen linked to organised crime.

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 8 (IPS) - Following its big gains in the Mar. 8 polls, Malaysia's once disparate opposition, led by the charismatic former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, has forged a formal coalition capable of taking on the ruling 14-party National Front (NF) coalition.