WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Nobel Laureate Saramago Defends Lula

Portuguese author José Saramago, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, condemned the ''disproportionate'' protests at the World Social Forum against the president of the host country, Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Reclaiming ”Our” UN – And Changing It

As the United Nations turns 60, the international civil society movement is aiming to create ''a global alliance'' to forge changes that go beyond what the UN or its members are currently willing to do in transforming the world body.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Where Dreams Are Shattered in a Garbage Heap

''Can the poor ever look happy?'' counters 70-year old Raheema, without looking up. She is bent double, rummaging through the garbage with her bare hands, looking for old rusted iron nails, scrap metal, animal bones, plastic and broken glass.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Unique Awards Highlight Corporate Irresponsibility

As the world's business and political elite continue their annual meeting in this Swiss alpine resort, civil society representatives have singled out four transnationals as the most socially irresponsible on the planet, and presented them with the Public Eye on Davos Award.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: North-South Meets, More Reforms Needed for MDGs

The leaders of the industrialised North and the developing South must hold regular meetings, and global reforms must be instituted if the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved, according to the Helsinki Process meeting at the fifth World Social Forum (WSF).

DEVELOPMENT: Iraq War, Budget Pressures Squeeze Overseas Aid

Even as the George w. Bush administration denies charges by critics that U.S. aid to poor nations is miserly compared to the contributions of other wealthy countries, it appears to be quietly rolling back its previous commitments to increase development assistance by 50 percent beginning next year.

DEVELOPMENT: A Tale of Two Forums in Worlds Apart

The exclusive mountain resort of Davos, Switzerland has brought together a few select rulers - both economic and political - for a World Economic Forum on "Taking Responsibility for Tough Choices". They have all the luxuries befitting their official status and are ringed by security steel.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: For India’s Dalits, Little Change A Year Later

When dalits (or India's 'untouchables') were out in force at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai in January 2004, their voices and protests became one of the hallmarks of the gathering. They took the opportunity at the forum to vent their outrage at social injustice.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Lula Leads Global Call to Fight Poverty

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva led a global call Thursday for a worldwide fight against poverty. In his address to the fifth World Social Forum, however, the leftist leader was also the target of harsh criticism from party activists even farther left on the political spectrum.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: A Siren Song for Doha Negotiators

The multilateral trading system has now entered the final stage on the road to the 6th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), set to take place in December in Hong Kong, yet its path seems strewn with distractions, drawing attention away from the main objective: a Doha Round agreement.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Corporations in Search of Paradise – Fiscal, That Is

All of the rhetoric about corporations' social responsibility, promoted in the international arena and adopted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), suffers from a structural flaw because it pays little attention to corporate tax evasion, say activists.

VENEZUELA: Grassroots Organising Ensures Health Care for Neighbourhoods

The Cuban doctor had barely stepped out of the car in the working-class Caracas neighbourhood of La Vega when the local health care committee emerged out of nowhere and set to work: one member offered his house for use as a clinic, another brought chairs, a third put together makeshift stretchers, a nurse appeared, a security system was organised, and the doctor began making house calls.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Raucous Return to Porto Alegre

Traffic ground to a halt and bus passengers asked each other what was going on. The sound of drums broke through the routine noises of the afternoon, prompting office workers to look out their windows upon a sea of flags waving in rhythm. Then it was obvious: the World Social Forum had returned to its birthplace.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: IT Powerhouse Strikes Back

Anyone who doubts the power of Linux needs only to get hold of a nifty, hand-held device that the Indian army plans to issue to soldiers in its million strong army.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Original Venue, New and Improved Methodology for Giant Meet

The fifth World Social Forum (WSF) opened Wednesday in this southern Brazilian city, returning to the birthplace of this gigantic annual civil society meet.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Emerging Economies Most Dynamic, Experts Say

The favourable economic results recently reported in Latin America reflect a dynamism that is currently absent in the world's traditional economic powers, according to the experts gathered for the World Economic Forum (WEF), currently underway in the Swiss alpine resort town of Davos.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Fighting for the Right to Information

The control wielded by big media and the need for strategies to challenge that power were among the central themes addressed at the First Information and Communication World Forum (ICWF).

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Open Systems for Open Politics

The World Social Forum opens Wednesday with open information systems in place to go with an open political ethos.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Delhi Youngsters Bank Way Out of Trouble

Raju Kumar sits quietly in the corner of a cheerful bright room, across a child-friendly bank counter, updating accounts and ledger books. A bank manager since 15, he delicately balances his work with his studies.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Venezuela Aims to Channel Voice of the South

Following in the footsteps of Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera, Venezuela is spearheading a project to launch a new television network that will bring the voice of Latin America and the Caribbean to the rest of world, while challenging U.S. control of the hemisphere's media.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Is It Africa’s Turn Next?

The World Social Forum (WSF), sometimes described as the "carnival of the oppressed", is about to get underway in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.