USAID Makes Steady but Slow Gains on Transparency

The United States’ main foreign assistance agency is getting widespread plaudits for new data on a series of internal reforms aimed at aid improvement, but some development experts are pointing to a persistent opaqueness from the agency.

Civil Society Seeks to Influence Mexican Mining Law Reform

Two separate bills to reform Mexico’s mining laws, one from the government and the other from academics and NGOs, agree on the urgent need for major changes in the rules governing the industry.

China Muscles into Kyrgyzstan’s Energy Market, Fueling Suspicion

China is financing the construction of Kyrgyzstan’s first major oil refinery, and excitement is building in Bishkek that the facility could enable the Central Asian nation to break Russia’s fuel-supply monopoly.

Cyprus Government Holds Bailout Crisis Talks

Political leaders in Cyprus are working on an alternative proposal to stave off bankruptcy after parliament overwhelmingly rejected an international bailout plan.

U.S. Urged to Reject New World Bank Focus on Large Infrastructure

A group of environmentalists, gender activists and international finance watchdogs are calling on the U.S. government to support calls for the World Bank to step back from a new programmatic focus on large-scale infrastructure, which critics say does little to help alleviate poverty.

Dependent on Venezuela’s Oil Diplomacy

Venezuela’s economic challenges, more than the uncertainty over who will succeed late president Hugo Chávez, could threaten the oil diplomacy he practiced in the region.

Russia to Get Venezuelan Oil for a Few Cents a Barrel

Russian state oil firm Rosneft and Venezuela's PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.) have agreed to form a partnership to exploit an oilfield with estimated reserves of 40 billion barrels, strengthening the alliance between the two countries.

How to Break the Stalemate on Global Sustainability

The current growth model is not sustainable. Neither the green economy nor alternative sources of energy can prevent global warming. Solutions will come from concerted actions at the local and national levels, from the adoption of instruments and practices borrowed from other disciplines like peacebuilding, and from the move to a “no-waste economy”, according to experts here.

China Outsells UK in World’s Lucrative Arms Bazaar

After ranking ahead of Japan as the world's second largest economy, China has reached another milestone: displacing the UK as the world's fifth largest arms supplier.

Dairy Farming Needs a Shot of Modernity

Mohammad Ali's routine has not changed in over three decades. A small dairy farmer in the village of Aliabad, in the Narowal district of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, he wakes at sunrise and walks to the barn to milk his three cows manually, stopping only for a breakfast of unleavened bread and tea heavily laced with milk before getting back to work.

Sugar Playing Catch-Up With Spice

Dotted with rice fields flanked by palm trees, Cambodia’s southeastern province of Kampong Speu is nothing short of picturesque. But behind the idyllic exterior is an on-going struggle to turn this region’s natural beauty into a global attraction and improve the lot of poor local farmers, as the neighbouring beachside Kampot province did just three years ago.

Q&A: Rise of South “Unprecedented in Speed and Scale”

The world's 132 developing nations, largely part of the global South, are ascending at a pace “unprecedented in its speed and scale", according to the latest Human Development Report (HDR) released Thursday by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP).

Latin America and Caribbean Won’t Lose Oil Aid from Venezuela

Venezuela will keep in place the regional energy integration policies promoted by the late president Hugo Chávez if he is succeeded by acting president Nicolás Maduro, experts on regional relations told IPS.

Cameroonian Farmers Find Justice in Fair Fruit

The fruit farmers in Njombe, a small town in the coastal Littoral Region of Cameroon, learned a life lesson about “making lemonade out of lemons” - or rather “dried fruit out of fruit” when their land was taken from them by the government and leased to an international farming company.

Drought Hits Policies

Drought has dramatically increased as a consequence of climate change. Most countries react to it only after it has occurred, but don’t have national policies to prevent it. The high-level meeting on national drought policies in Geneva this week is trying to match scientific knowledge with political awareness.

Changing Weather, Changing Fortunes

Sri Lanka has paused for breath after the extreme weather conditions last year that many associate with climate change.

Thailand Negotiating ‘Worrying’ Deal With EU

The negotiations launched this week for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the European Union have raised concerns among both Thai and European non-governmental organisations, who fear that EU demands could have a negative impact on Thailand’s progressive public health policies.

U.S. “Rebalancing” to Asia/Pacific Still a Priority

Amidst growing tensions with North Korea and, to a lesser extent, China, the White House Monday insisted that its “re-balancing” toward the Asia/Pacific remained on track and that Washington is fully committed to its allies there, especially Japan and South Korea.

Pressure Grows on Washington to Pass IMF Governance Reforms

More than 130 scholars, former government officials and policymakers are calling on the U.S. Congress to enact pending legislation enabling broad governance reforms within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would strengthen the voice of developing countries within the institution.

Resentment as South Africa Speaks Business for Continent

There is growing resentment in Africa about the way in which South Africa professes to speak for the rest of the continent in its role as a member of key developing nation blocs, researchers and experts have warned.

Switzerland Sets Example for Income Equality

For those who think that Occupy Wall Street, the Indignados in Spain, the World Social Forum and the numerous manifestations of protest worldwide are expressions without concrete outcomes, the result of the Swiss referendum on Mar. 3 on capping the salaries and bonuses of banks executives should make them think twice.