Last week a major international health donor had to admit it had lost over two million dollars of medicines and $34 million in cash to corruption. But the situation is worse than publicly acknowledged and is set to deteriorate further.

Hope that the Global Fund's commendable effort to unearth corruption and improve its logistics is giving way to fear that money and drugs are continuing to be donated to corrupt actors--a major perversion of donor intent.

But now that the Middle East is being rocked by pro-democracy protests–as people demand freedom, employment, and an end to tyranny.

Just in time for your post-Monday morning coffee jitters comes a calming article from Paul Pillar, former CIA Near East hand: We Can Live with a Nuclear Iran.

President Barack Obama and Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum have finally managed to find something they agree on. Despite their many differences, they see eye to eye on the notion that the tax system should favor manufacturing over other sectors of the economy.

A exposé purporting to show that Bonn-based Fairtrade International (FLO),the world’s largest labeller of ethical goods, had failed in its oversight of a project in west Africa that supplies Limited Brands-owned Victoria’s Secret.  The project  was paying sub-par wages to children labouring in inhumane conditions and helps drive a wedge between FLO and FairTrade USA.

In late May, a deadly mutant strain of E. coli broke out in Germany and spread across at least 12 countries. The bacterium, which is more toxic and infectious than any other known strain of E coli, left 1,800 infected and 18 dead by early June.

This article is about the evidence found proving the involvement of a group of former Soviet generals in preparing the Iraqi army for war against the United States.