Australia / Afghanistan / China
INFO: Major Australian parties say ‘no’ to an anti-corruption body
Reflecting the position of major political parties, Australia's federal government has officially rejected creating a national anti-corruption body--a move that has disappointed transparency advocates.
Read the story by Daniel Burdon, in The Northern Star. http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/no-to-an-anti-corruption-body/2922618/
COMMENTARY: What corruption indexes don't tell us about Afghanistan
"Three global watchdog reports came out last week highlighting Afghanistan's scornful predicament in 2015. Their findings reveal a rise in corruption and human rights violations and a consistent failure in political freedom and civil liberties… While it is true that the Afghan government and its international supporters must be alarmed by these findings, rankings and scores in such global annual reports must be contextualised if they are to inform policy."
Read the op-ed by Helena Malikyar, in Al-Jazeera. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/02/corruption-indexes-don-afghanistan-ashraf-ghani-160204132917875.html
INFO: China anti-corruption agency warns of 'major problems' in financial sector
China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection says it has uncovered "major problems" in the country's sprawling financial system, ranging from abuse of power at a top state-owned bank to officials using data for personal gain at the government statistics bureau.
Read the story by Sophia Yan, in CNN Money. http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/05/news/economy/china-financial-sector-corruption-risks/