Putin may have amassed secret $40 billion fortune while 'fighting corruption'; new ANC leader Zuma may face corruption charges...

21 December :: Guardian reports Russian pres. Vladimir Putin may be hiding secret $40 billion fortune in accounts in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, that struggle for control of state-run assets brewing amid rival Kremlin factions; Putin fortune would be major news, as he has long claimed his attacks on political rivals were part of anti-corruption crusade against billionaire 'oligarchs'; according to the UK-based paper, "Citing sources inside the president's administration, [Russian political expert Stanislav]Belkovsky claims that after eight years in power Putin has secretly accumulated more than $40bn (£20bn). The sum would make him Russia's - and Europe's - richest man"; much of the wealth is related to his stake in state-owned businesses, a serious ethical and international relations concern, considering strong-arm tactics used by Russian energy exporters against EU market in recent years... After struggle in South Africa's ruling African National Congress party, new leader Jacob Zuma has been informed he may face criminal charges for corruption alleged during his tenure as deputy to Pres. Thabo Mbeki... Documents reveal fmr UK PM Tony Blair put intense pressure on his top prosecutor to halt an investigation into alleged bribes paid by arms firm BAE to Saudi princes; reports suggest the Saudi regime threatened to suspend diplomatic relations with Britain if the investigation was not ended, that Blair continued to press Lord Goldsmith even after the attorney general refused to suspend the search for evidence... US Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has withdrawn from the race for his party's nomination to run for president, and endorsed fmr. Mass. gov. Mitt Romney...

UN praises US Senate effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions; IMF to calculate climate costs; Ukraine pres. backs Tymoshenko for PM...

6 December :: UN says US Senate plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions is step in right direction for US, for public health worldwide, in effort to reduce climate change impact; after new Australian gov't ratified Kyoto Protocol at Bali talks, US is only developed nation not signed on, while Bush admin. representative at Bali says the Senate proposal will not alter gov't policy at present... IMF to publish data and analysis on costs of climate change in 2008, in connection with talks about ways to "climate-proof" economies against the ill effects of volatile climate conditions... Reuters reports "Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko accepted on Thursday the leader of a pro-Western 'orange' coalition, Yulia Tymoshenko, as prime minister"; Tymoshenko and Pres. Yuschenko were allies in the 2004 'Orange revolution' that brought their pro-Western gov't to power, she was his first PM, but split after intense infighting; Parliament now needs to vote on her candidacy... Italian politician has shocked nation, outraged Jews, by saying gov't should treat immigrants according to a Nazi policy that punished 10 Italians for every one Nazi killed; policy is infamous throughout Italy, because Italians who opposed Nazis were brutally killed by Hitler regime, the 10-to-1 concept obviously asserting that group persecution or targetting of innocents, however light the punishment, violating democratic principles fundamentally; a front-page editorial in Il Giornale, a conservative paper that often sides with Bettio's party wrote "Even if he was drunk or his brain short-circuited [...] he must be condemned without appeal"... Fmr Mass. governor and fmr. GOP frontrunner, Mitt Romney, has used a speech in Texas to assure voters his Mormon faith will not intervene in his decisions as president; some analysts have attributed Romney's slipping poll numbers to skepticism about the Mormon church and the perception that he would take advice from church leaders...

Bush says US "will do its part" to curb climate change; Pfizer faces $8.5 billion suit for Nigeria drug test...

1 October :: US pres. George W. Bush has promised in a speech at his climate change conference in Washington, DC, the US "will do its part" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce risk of dangers caused by human-induced climate change; critics continue to say his approach is designed to postpone any comprehensive global regime limiting carbon emissions... Fmr US House Speaker Gingrich says he will not run for president because campaign finance laws would bar him from having any contact with a political organization he founded, says "The McCain-Feingold Act criminalizes politics"; on prospective rivals, ABC quotes him as saying of Hillary Clinton, "I believe she is very professional. I think the Clinton machine is the most powerful political machine in modern America. I think her husband is the smartest politician in our generation"... Pfizer facing $8.5 billion lawsuit by Nigerian gov't, Nigerian state of Kano, which allege the company tested a drug on meningitis patients without their permission, leading to at least 11 deaths, during 1996 outbreak... Putin may seek premiership after term limits end his tenure as president of the Russian Federation; he has said he would accept the post of PM on two conditions: that his party win the parliamentary elections, and that his successor as president be a "respectable, capable, effective and modern person whom I could work with as a team"... Yuliya Tymoshenko, fmr ally and PM to Ukrainian pres. Viktor Yuschenko, leads opponents 32.59% to 31.62%, appears poised to form coalition to take control of parliament, despite rival pro-Russia party spending $400 million to return Yanukovich to premiership; some observers predict "rift" between fmr Orange Revolution allies so deep Pres. Yuschenko could offer arch-foe Yanukovich coalition and premiership by year's end...