SAUDI ARABIA: Foreign Workers Trapped in a Gilded Cage

When Egyptian mechanical engineer Farid Hassanein received a phone call two years ago notifying him that his application for work in neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia was approved, he thought his long-time dream of owning a car would be close at hand.

SAUDI ARABIA: Forgiveness Saves Lives from the Sword

The blazing headline read like this: 'Royal intercession saves two lives from the sword'. Literally, the governor of Mecca Province, Prince Makkah Abdelmageed bin Abdelaziz, who heads a committee for securing "forgiveness" for convicted murderers did help spare two from death by the sword.

LABOUR-EGYPT: Workers’ Revolt Pays Off

More than 20,000 Egyptian textile workers have scored a rare win over plans to privatise their publicly-owned company, with a massive strike that forced the company's management and the pro-free market government to back down.

LABOUR-EGYPT: Workers’ Revolt Pays Off

More than 20,000 Egyptian textile workers have scored a rare win over plans to privatise their publicly-owned company, with a massive strike that forced the company's management and the pro-free market government to back down.

TRADE: U.S. Business Fights Curbs on Exports to China

Several U.S. business groups have come out against a proposed regulation that would place further control exports on China for fear that Beijing will use U.S. technology to modernise its military. The groups say the plan is unrealistic and unworkable.

RIGHTS: Will FGM Fatwa Make a Difference?

Om Samar didn't believe the news. "Muslim scholars banning (female) circumcision? This must be a joke," she said.

RELIGION-EGYPT: A Society Divided by the Veil

The Islamic female veil has again become a bone of contention in this country after Egypt's long-time culture minister, Farouq Hosni, joined an international chorus decrying the practice, despite the growing number of Muslim women donning the attire.

TRADE: Preferential US-Andean Deals Face Uncertain Future

A U.S. deal to give Andean nations trade preferences in return for anti-drugs policies is set to expire, and its renewal looks set to be another tough trade battle, both in Washington and with the four South American partners.

FINANCE: Another Client Forsakes the IMF

Uruguay has joined a growing list of developing nations that are shunning new loans from the International Monetary Fund and paying their debts in full well before their due dates.

CORRUPTION: Bank Bars Company for Years-Old Bribery Scandal

The World Bank has debarred a German engineering company from Bank-backed contracts for seven years for its role in corruption involving an African water project, but Bank watchdog groups say the move is long overdue.

U.S./IRAQ: A Convenient Verdict?

Saddam Hussein doesn't have many friends here, but the death sentence handed down Sunday against the former Iraqi president has invited accusations that the announcement was timed to influence the U.S. congressional elections set for Tuesday, only two days after the verdict.

FINANCE: Majority of Govt Spending Escapes Public Vetting

Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Mongolia and Vietnam are among the most secretive countries in the world about their own budgets, a new index gauging global budget transparency found Wednesday.

TRADE: U.S. Watchdog Urges Tighter Rein on Conflict Gems

The United States, the world's largest consumer of diamonds, should adopt stronger oversight measures to choke off a trade that fuels wars and human rights abuses in many exporting nations, a U.S. Congressional report finds.

FINANCE: Norway Breaks Silence on “Illegitimate Debt”

Anti-debt campaigners are hailing as groundbreaking Monday's decision by Norway to cancel 80 million dollars in debt owed by five poor nations after it determined that the loans were not granted in a good faith effort to promote development.

FINANCE: Norway Breaks Silence on “Illegitimate Debt”

Anti-debt campaigners are hailing as groundbreaking Monday's decision by Norway to cancel 80 million dollars in debt owed by five poor nations after it determined that the loans were not granted in a good faith effort to promote development.

RIGHTS: Social Setbacks as Big Oil Expands Pipelines

Predominantly foreign male workers who relocated to build massive oil and gas projects, combined with feeble gender policies, have brought prostitution, human trafficking, poverty, HIV/AIDS and greater burdens for local communities around those projects, new research finds.

LABOUR: U.S. Union, Business Group Slam Jordan Sweatshops

A leading U.S. labour coalition and an industry group have filed a complaint with the U.S. Trade Representative asking that it formally sanction the government of Jordan for "gross workers' rights violations" under a controversial free trade agreement with the United States and Israel.

FINANCE: U.S. Warned on War Spending and Deficits

One of the world's most exclusive business clubs warned the United States Tuesday that its open-ended national security and war expenditures, along with tax cuts that led to large budget deficits, could affect the country's status as a powerful economic force.

FINANCE: U.S. Warned on War Spending and Deficits

One of the world's most exclusive business clubs warned the United States Tuesday that its open-ended national security and war expenditures, along with tax cuts that led to large budget deficits, could affect the country's status as a powerful economic force.

CORRUPTION: Wolfowitz Crusade Could Hurt Poor, Group Warns

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz's anti-corruption crusade could jeopardise those it claims to protect, the poor in developing nations, by letting powerful players off the hook and by not extending corruption probes to the Bank's past lending, a leading U.S. whistleblower group says.

ENVIRONMENT: Funders Pressured to Abandon Russian Pipeline

Encouraged by a Russian government decision last week to enforce tougher environmental regulations for the controversial Sakhalin II oil project, international environmentalists say that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) should change course and withhold funding for the project or risk violating domestic Russian law.