FINANCE: Invest in Clean Energy, Auditor Urges World Bank

The head of a World Bank effort to assess the institution's heavily criticised support for mining and energy projects appealed to the bank Friday to re-channel its energy investments into clean and renewable energy sources.

ECONOMY: U.S.-Africa Trade Rises, Falls Under New Deal

U.S.-Africa trade fell in 2002, weighed down by a decline in U.S. exports of transportation goods and a decrease in energy exports from Africa, according to a U.S. report.

TRADE: Reforming WTO Still a Distant Goal

Consensus on how to reform the embattled World Trade Organisation (WTO) will not be easy to achieve, if a survey of experts is any indicator.

U.S.: Support Ebbs for Trade and Farm Subsidies – Poll

Most people in the United States disapprove of their country's trade policy and want leaders to beef up measures to cushion trade's negative effects on workers and the environment, a new survey showed Thursday.

DEVELOPMENT: Groups Prod World Bank on Gender

The World Bank needs to hire more experts on gender equality, press borrowers to include gender issues in its investments, and offer more incentives for its staff to work toward eliminating gaps between men and women worldwide, says a recent study.

FINANCE: Private Money Returns to Developing Nations

Private capital flows to so-called "emerging markets" rebounded strongly last year over 2002 levels, pulled up by low interest rates in rich countries and better economic policies in developing nations, says a global group of financial firms.

FINANCE-U.S.: Bush Floats Moon-to-Mars Plan as Debt Skyrockets

As U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled his plan to establish a base on the Moon to support a manned mission to Mars on Wednesday, economists were warning that the U.S. "borrow and spend" policy that would fund the mission is piling up debt and inflating the country's deficits to serious levels.

CORRUPTION: Billions in Angolan Oil Money Missing – Report

More than four billion dollars went missing from government coffers in oil-rich Angola from 1997-2002, says a leading human rights watchdog, pointing the finger at officials' wrongdoing.

POLITICS: More Allegations That Bush Lied About Reasons for War

A flurry of recent reports and statements supports accusations that the Bush administration misrepresented evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to go to war in Iraq.

POLITICS: U.S. Pushes ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit’ for Latin America

The United States says it will urge leaders from 34 Americas nations meeting this week to continue to democratise their societies, open up their economies, introduce property rights, commit to free trade and assist businesses to operate in their countries.

IRAQ: New Contract for Controversial Bechtel Worth Billions

The United States awarded a 1.8-billion-dollar reconstruction contract to U.S. engineering giant Bechtel on Tuesday despite charges from watchdog groups that the company is too close to the U.S. administration and that such deals exclude many Iraqis.

HEALTH-U.S.: Industry Slowing Action on Mad Cow Disease – Activists

A group of activists and consumer advocates is accusing the U.S. government of doing too little to stop the spread of mad cow disease in the country because of pressure from the powerful beef industry.

TRADE: North American Deal Dismal After a Decade

After 10 years a deal that all sides say transformed trade and investment rules in North America has still produced far fewer positive results than originally promised, according to its critics.

TRADE: North American Deal Dismal After a Decade

After 10 years a deal that all sides say transformed trade and investment rules in North America has still produced far fewer positive results than originally promised, according to its critics.

IRAQ: U.S. Firm Bechtel Planned to Evade 1988 Sanctions – Document

U.S. construction giant Bechtel, a firm with a major contract to help rebuild Iraq, planned to hire "non-U.S. suppliers of technology" so it could evade economic sanctions imposed by Washington after Saddam Hussein used poison gas against Iraq's Kurdish minority, according to a newly declassified document.

RIGHTS: U.S. Raps Nations Over Religious Freedom

The United States criticised several countries on Thursday, both allies and adversaries, for failing to protect religious freedom, a charge it has faced itself since launching its "war on terror".

TRADE: U.S. Reaches Pact With Central American Nations

The United States and four Central American countries reached a so-called free trade agreement (FTA) on Wednesday, a deal critics say will cost U.S. jobs and transfer wealth from the already impoverished Latin nations to U.S. corporations.

TRADE: U.S. Reaches Pact With Central American Nations

The United States and four Central American countries reached a so-called free trade agreement (FTA) on Wednesday, a deal critics say will cost U.S. jobs and transfer wealth from the already impoverished Latin nations to U.S. corporations.

TRADE: World Bank Lauds North American Deal’s Impact on Mexico

Contradicting a number of recent studies and findings by independent think tanks and activists, the World Bank says the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has spurred economic development in Mexico.

IRAQ: Saddam’s Arrest Could Refuel Arab Anger With Leaders

The capture of Saddam Hussein could fuel the simmering anger that Arab populations feel towards their dictatorial leaders, and embolden them to demand greater participation, say analysts here.

POLITICS: Iraq Contracts Expose Washington’s True Aims – Critics

The George W. Bush administration's decision to exclude countries that opposed the U.S.-led war on Iraq from multi-billion-dollar reconstruction deals contradicts its position both on free trade and its self-described mission in Iraq, Washington analysts say.