New York Times: Battle to Halt Graft Scourge in Africa Ebbs
The fight against corruption in Africa’s most pivotal nations is faltering as public agencies investigating wrongdoing have been undermined or disbanded and officials leading the charge have been dismissed, subjected to death threats and driven into exile. In South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, the effort to root out graft, which saps money intended to combat disease and poverty, has faced major setbacks. The former director of global programs at the World Bank estimates there are tens of billions of dollars of corrupt transactions each year in sub-Saharan Africa.

Wall Street Journal: Congress Hesitant on IMF Funding
A White House bid to push a $108 billion contribution to the International Monetary Fund through Congress is in danger of unraveling because of an unlikely coalition of Republicans, liberal Democrats and anti-globalization activists. At the April summit of the G20, the US pressed to increase the IMF’s funding by about $500 billion. The IMF money is currently attached to an Iraq and Afghanistan funding bill. However so far the votes aren’t there, and gaining support for the money in Congress is difficult because of a longstanding distrust of international institutions, a lack of powerful corporate sponsors and anti-bailout sentiment among lawmakers. Many believe that if the US fails to meet its target, pledges from other nations will slow as well.

Reuters: Organizers Reject Criticism of UN Financial Summit
Western diplomats are accusing the former Nicaraguan foreign minister who heads the U.N. General Assembly of hijacking an upcoming G20 U.N. summit on the financial crisis to put capitalism on trial, an allegation his spokesman flatly rejected. The summit is supposed to focus on the impact the financial crisis has had on the developing world. However, diplomats from Western nations claim it would instead be used as a platform for speakers who want to attack capitalism.

The New Vision (Uganda): Climate Change is Undermining
The New Vision of Uganda writes that farmers in developing countries are hard hit by the impact of climate change, yet according to the Global Humanitarian Forum 2009, these countries contribute less than 1% to global warming. Because of unreliable seasons, life for ordinary people, especially women, who constitute 80% of subsistence farmers, is becoming more difficult and unpredictable. The New Vision concludes that there is a need to scale up efforts to adapt to climate change.

-Grace Lamb-Atkinson