China’s Tops in South African Trade

South Africa has experienced a significant shift in trade with a new emphasis on links with developing nations, at the expense of traditional partners in the developed world, according to a leading South African economist.

Wine to China

South Africa and China are partners within a club of leading emerging markets, and it would seem natural that exports of South African wine to the Chinese market should be surging.

Critics Slam ASEAN Rights Commission

At the age of 82, former Indonesian political detainee Mudjayin wonders if he will ever see justice served.

Building BRICS

Will the BRICS expand into the BRICSIT?

Brazil Emerging as Key Player at U.N.

When a U.N. member state agrees to hold an international conference in its capital, the host country is not only offered the privilege of chairing the mega meeting but also given pride of place as the keynote opening speaker.

Pan-American Rights Commission “Under Threat”

Representatives of nearly 40 civil society organisations from throughout the Americas gathered here on Wednesday to express concerns with proposed changes to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Regional Trade Key to African Food Security, World Bank Says

The World Bank is urging African countries to strengthen regional food trade, suggesting that food security could be greatly enhanced simply by allowing farmers to trade more easily across the continent.

Amid Food Crisis, Caribbean Agriculture Going to Seed

With the average age of a farmer in the Caribbean now 62 years old, there is growing concern that commercial agriculture is on a path to extinction – a dire scenario for a region already shouldering a massive food import bill.

Brazil Frustrated with European “Backtracking” on IMF Reforms

In the aftermath of last week’s elections to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s executive board, Brazil and others are expressing frustration that a reforms process aimed at increasing the representation of developing countries is being stymied by European countries.

Africa’s Claims for Security Council Seats Still in Limbo

After 20 long years of negotiations on a proposed expansion of the Security Council, African countries continue to be left out in the cold - even as African leaders complain that the international community has failed to respond to their demands for two permanent seats in the most powerful body at the United Nations.

South-South Cooperation Transcends Sharing Technical Knowhow

When the United Nations commemorated the Day of South-South Cooperation last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon singled out a new development that transcends sharing technical know-how: coordination of government policy among developing nations.

Doubts Linger About Caribbean-EU Trade Pact

P.J. Patterson, the former Jamaican prime minister, has had a long relationship with the European Union.

South Invited to ‘De-Grow’

“We should find the way, with our small degrowth movement in the global North, to align ourselves with the environmental justice movement originating with indigenous peoples from the South,” Catalan ecological economist Juan Martinez-Alier said at the third international degrowth conference in Venice, Italy.

Little Concern for the Environment in EU-Central America Agreement

The Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union (EU) will increase environmental and social pressures on the region, warn experts and activists. But some observers stress its potentially positive impacts.

PACIFIC ISLANDS: Marine Protected Areas Bolster Conservation Efforts

The world's smallest island nations wield more power than their sizes would suggest, with millions of square kilometres in their domains, said leaders of Pacific Island nations gathered at a special forum here in the Cook Islands.

OP-ED: Some Thoughts on the Nonaligned Movement Summit in Tehran

It must be considered pure fortuity for the Islamic Republic of Iran that the decision to hold the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran was made three years ago in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

U.N. Chief in the Hot Seat over Non-Aligned Summit in Iran

When Cuba chaired the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) back in 1979, Western nations dismissed the world's largest single political coalition as lacking legitimacy since Havana was considered a close ally of the then-Soviet Union.

Eastern Caribbean Seeks Economic Unity

The nine-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is pushing harder for regional integration with the launch of a new parliamentary forum that it says will play a major role in its efforts to establish an economic union.

Amid Rise in Piracy, U.N. Backs Summit on Maritime Security

When the United Nations advocates the protection of the world's oceans, its political agenda transcends the battle against marine pollution, global warming, overfishing, greenhouse gases and sea-level rise.

Is the Staggering Rise of the South Sustainable?

Growth in developing economies (DEs) has accelerated significantly in the new millennium.

Free Trade with China? No, Gracias

There is little likelihood that South America’s Mercosur trade bloc will take up China’s proposal to establish a free trade agreement, at least in the short term. Experts and industrialists fear an invasion of cheap Chinese goods, and unequal competition.