Globalisation

SPECIAL REPORT-MEDIA: Alternative and Influential?

By Miren Gutierrez
When you hear "alternative media," it is often alongside such words as "collective," "citizen-oriented," and "public." But what does it have to do with journalism? And how influential are groups like Indymedia, which recently had some of its computers seized?
Hopefully, she'll be a beneficiary of the Helsinki Process. (Photo: Steve Hilton-Barber) Credit: PictureNET Africa

DEVELOPMENT: An Ambitious Agenda for the Helsinki Process

By Moyiga Nduru
Their typical day starts at five in the morning or earlier. Balancing a pot on their heads – and sometimes with a baby strapped to their backs – women in rural Africa may walk up to 12 kilometres a day to fetch water.

ECONOMY-ZIMBABWE: "Zhing-Zhong" Gets the Thumbs Up – From Consumers

By IPS Correspondents
Zimbabwe’s clothing manufacturers understand too well why Asian economies are often referred to as "tigers". With feline swiftness, low-priced imports from the East have cut a swathe through the local clothing, textile and footwear market.

HEALTH-GABON: Meat Ban Ruffles Feathers

By IPS Correspondents
The re-emergence of avian influenza in Asia, and an outbreak of the disease in South Africa, have put agricultural authorities in those countries on high alert.

CULTURE-SUDAN: The Fall and Rise of English

By IPS Correspondents
Crumbling masonry, peeling paint and dusty patches where once were manicured lawns...The University of Khartoum has worn poorly under the searing Sudanese sun – as much as the language that the buttoned-up colonialists who built it came to spread.

POLITICS-AFRICA: The Continental Legislature Puts Down Roots

By Moyiga Nduru
It was a telling incident. While several religious leaders were invited to say a prayer at Thursday's opening of the Pan-African Parliament's second sitting, an imam was not amongst them.

AMERICAS SOCIAL FORUM: Weak Grassroots Presence; Heavy on the NGOs

By IPS Correspondents
Although activists agreed that the overall balance of the first Social Forum of the Americas, which ended Friday in the Ecuadorian capital, was positive, some told IPS there was a weak presence of grassroots movements and trade unions.

AMERICAS SOCIAL FORUM: Global Forum to Move and Improve

By IPS Correspondents
The World Social Forum (WSF), which will return to Brazil for its fifth session Jan. 24-29, 2005, will introduce profound changes to prevent the "wasting of experience" - and to make the most of what participating critics of neo-liberal globalisation have to offer in the quest for ''another world''.

AMERICAS SOCIAL FORUM: The Media – the First Power?

By IPS Correspondents
The media are the first power in Brazil, because they define the agenda for the government, said Brazilian theologian and writer Frei Betto Monday, the first day of debates at the I Social Forum of the Americas.
Informal trade - difficult to regulate, but economically essential. Credit: Nadine Hutton

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Bringing the Margins Into the Mainstream

By IPS Correspondents
It is one of the most-discussed sectors of South Africa’s economy, but also one of the most difficult to define – encompassing everyone from collectors of scrap cardboard to the managers of tiny businesses.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Reversing the Medical Brain Drain

By IPS Correspondents
The flight of nurses and doctors from South Africa - and other African states - has long been a source of concern for the governments of these countries. And, the advent of AIDS has sharpened fears about the effects of this migration.

RIGHTS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Human Trafficking Stretches Across the Region

By Moyiga Nduru
Young South African women are being given false job offers to lure them into prostitution in Macau, a former Portuguese colony now under Chinese control, says the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

GLOBALISATION-SPAIN: Workers Await the ‘Positive Side’ of Outsourcing

By IPS Correspondents
Controversy and protests abound in Spain when it comes to the phenomenon known as outsourcing: when local or transnational companies move their operations abroad, following the path of lowest production costs.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Upbeat on Globalisation, Although Southern Africa Lags

By Jim Lobe
Africans feel relatively positive about globalisation and the United States, although the enthusiasm for both is markedly weaker among Southern Africans and Tanzanians than among people in other parts of the continent, according to a major survey of seven sub-Saharan African nations.

CORRUPTION-ZAMBIA: “Suspects Are Beginning to Look Like Victims”

By IPS Correspondents
This month marks the second anniversary of a corruption task force set up by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to investigate the alleged improprieties of his predecessor, Frederick Chiluba. However, chances of the former leader being convicted on any of the charges seem increasingly remote.

POLITICS: Global Poll Finds Pessimism, Linked to U.S. Power

By Jim Lobe
With the notable exceptions of China and India, a majority of people in 19 key countries are pessimistic about the world's current direction, says a just-released survey, which found a high correlation between that feeling and the belief that U.S. influence is increasingly negative, particularly as compared to Europe.

GLOBALISATION: EU Calls for New Steps

By IPS Correspondents
The European Union is stepping up its efforts to fight the social effects of globalisation.

GLOBALISATION: Barcelona Forum Yet Another Space for Inequality

By IPS Correspondents
The Universal Forum of Cultures is, according to organisers, a space to reflect on the principal cultural and social conflicts that humans face in the 21st century. But obstacles arise each step of the way in keeping this space open to all.

MAY DAY: Nike Complaint Spotlights U.N. Partnership With Business

By Marty Logan
U.S. and Canadian labour unions say they will consider filing a complaint at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) after another United Nations body that promotes corporate responsibility said it could not deal with their allegation that sports equipment maker Nike is anti-union.

DEVELOPMENT: Small Island States Swamped

By Thalif Deen
The tiny Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives, which depends primarily on fishing and tourism for its economic survival, is threatened with extinction because of a projected rise in sea level caused by global warming.

DEVELOPMENT: Critics Pan U.N. Private-Sector Poverty Plan

By Paul Weinberg
A United Nations report that argues boosting support for the private sector in developing countries is the fastest route to eliminating poverty is meeting a sceptical response among civil society.
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