An investigation by the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism reveals what has motivated some women to become suicide bombers for Islamic extremist in Iraq.

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting found that Florida school districts spent $890 million of U.S. government stimulus money -- intended for low-performing schools and economic development – on covering holes in the general operating budget and only delaying inevitable cuts.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, found that property confiscated from individuals associated with the illegal drug trade and the Colombian mafia had ended up in the hands of associates of officials in the National Narcotics Agency.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). An investigation by Bloomberg Markets finds that Western spy equipment has been used routinely by Bahrain and other authoritarian regimes to intercept private computer communications and facilitate the arrests of human rights activists and political dissidents.

Croatian journalist Kruno Kartus uncovered the uncontrolled sale and use of toxic pesticides in Croatian agriculture. His story was honored with the annual Velebitska Degenija award by the Croatian Journalists’ Association.

The Salt Lake Tribune chronicles the story of two employees from the Department of Workforce Services who appear to have conspired in creating a list of state assistance recipients they suspected of being undocumented immigrants. The state workers planned to hand the list to immigration officials.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Nigerian news website Next details the plunder of a N950 million Millennium Development Goal grant meant for the education of the nation’s nomadic tribes and families with high rates of illiteracy. An investigation by the governing board of the National Commission for Nomadic Education found that the agency, entrusted with building schools and teaching children, has instead pocketed most of the funds.

KHOU-TV in Houston found that underground drinking water pipes, water tanks and plumbing in central Texas have become radioactive – mostly from high-levels of naturally occurring radium in the soil. A report issued in 2001 warned officials of “relatively high” levels of radium in drinking water in the region, yet was ignored.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The two reporters are at a crime scene on Pisces Street between Aquarius and Leo, a rather astrological crossing in a dusty and disjointed neighborhood, much like most of the neighborhoods in Ciudad Juárez. It’s the first reported victim of their burdensome nightshift. The photographer can’t get close to the body. She’s not allowed past the yellow tape put up by the forensics team.

Read the story here:

Al Jazeera investigated the Institute of Religious Works, better known as Vatican Bank, and showed how lack of transparency and regulation has shielded the bank from outside scrutiny. Recently, Italian state prosecutors have been investigating allegations of money laundering at the bank.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that Burmese refugees have been placed in substandard apartments that violate building code regulations and endanger the health and safety of tenants.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

London’s Observer chronicled how Wachovia, a major U.S. bank now owned by Wells Fargo, laundered billions of dollars for a drug cartel in Mexico since 2004; the onset of escalating violence along the U.S. – Mexican border.

The Associated Press investigated the use of cleanup money doled out by BP during last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and found that many communities spent millions of dollars of BP money on gadgets, vehicles and gear, which often had little to do with the cleanup.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The International Press Service Africa discovered that a biofuel project by a Dutch company in Tanzania fell short of expectations on jobs and delivering clean energy. Instead the project has faltered, leaving farmers without work or compensation for land, and the local environment devastated.

Investigate West finds that pollution in the Duwamish River, running along Seattle's major industrial area and its Superfund sites, is the source of serious health threats to people living nearby.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Photojournalist Mimi Chakarova, in a co-production by the Center for Investigative Reporting, investigates the plight of young Eastern European women drawn into sex trafficking and victimized by its rampant repression and abuse. In this feature-length documentary, Chakarova illustrates why this form of human trafficking, despite countless attempts to halt it, continues to thrive.

A new website, Archives Portal Europe, provides access to archival and institutional information, currently from 17 European countries. The project, supported by the European Commission, will aggregate European archives and collections of digital data.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Our colleagues at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project have launched the Investigative Dashboard-ID, a compilation of databases on corporations worldwide. A useful tool for investigative reporters, it teaches new “tricks of the trade,” offers software resources and tutorials.

The Investigative News Network, in collaboration with NPR, sifted though aviation databases and found frequent safety problems at airports that included near-misses, bad communications, equipment failures, bird strikes and simple mistakes with dangerous consequences.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

“Drink champagne,” wrote my former editor, with whom I had worked at the Latvian daily newspaper Diena, “Vaskevics is finally arrested!” Read More >>

ICIJ member Rui Araujo's investigation "Abutres" revealed that Portugal's state-owned companies are drain on the public treasury. He questioned peculiar deals between public managers, private companies and politicians who were under investigation.

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting discovered that the federal immigration enforcement program, Secure Communities, designed to identify and deport violent illegal immigrants, has increasingly targeted and deported undocumented immigrants with no criminal records.

“Investigations Around the World” is a regular ICIJ feature designed to showcase great investigative reporting across the globe. We are always looking for stories to highlight, so please send your links to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).