COMMONWEALTH: Come To Us, People Tell Leaders

Civil society representatives have sent an urgent request to government leaders to hold talks with them Thursday, ahead of the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

POLITICS: South Asia Spars over Commonwealth Summit

Even as they enforce a ceasefire along the Kashmir border and make other peace overtures to each other, India and Pakistan continue to fight each other in multilateral forums.

COMMONWEALTH: People’s Forum Gets Underway in Nigeria

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo opened the Commonwealth People’s Forum Sunday.

COMMONWEALTH: How to Beat that Democracy Deficit

The Commonwealth heads of government meeting, beginning in the Nigerian capital next week, is committed to promotion of development and democracy - both in heavy deficit among member countries. The answer is open government, says a new report ahead of the meeting.

COMMONWEALTH: Canada a Champion of … Everyone?

Delegates to December's Commonwealth summit can be forgiven if they are confused by Canada's rhetoric as a free trade booster and by the country's attempts to hold moral high ground as a champion of developing world issues, experts here say.

COMMONWEALTH: Caribbean NGOs Want Real Influence

As the Commonwealth gets set to shine a spotlight on civil society and governance, Caribbean NGOs say that much needs to be done to ensure that civil society's participation in helping to build societies goes beyond lip service..

EDUCATION-MALAWI: Making Universal Primary Schooling a Reality

When the Commonwealth heads of government gather in Nigeria next month for their bi-annual meeting, the agenda will probably be dominated by politics. But, if activist Julita Msanjama had her way, the leaders would spend most of their time discussing education.

COMMONWEALTH: Conscience Can Be Good For Business

The Commonwealth will set up a new global index to measure socially responsible investment at a business forum in Abuja next week.

PAKISTAN: Suspension from Commonwealth No Big Worry for Military

Pakistan's continued suspension from the 54-nation Commonwealth for failing to fully restore democracy four years after the coup by President Gen Pervez Musharraf is no cause for much concern for the military-backed government.

CHOGM: Paper Diet Feeds the Toothless

The Commonwealth hasn't done badly on human rights - on paper that is. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja will seek to transfer at least some of those rights on to the street where they are needed.

ECONOMY: Commonwealth to Play a Role in Trade Talks

The Commonwealth can play an important role in advancing the stalled Doha Development Round when World Trade Organisation officials meet in Geneva next month, says Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon.

DEVELOPMENT: Commonwealth Gives Growth a Democratic Push

The Commonwealth plans to make development and democracy a special theme at a meeting of heads of government in Abuja in Nigeria next month.

POLITICS: Zimbabwe Could Overshadow Commonwealth Agenda

Don McKinnon hopes that December's Commonwealth summit in Abuja, Nigeria will not be dominated by Zimbabwe, but it appears that circumstances might override that wish.

POLITICS: Ugandans Opt for Talks to End Rebellion

For 17 years, the government of President Yoweri Museveni has failed to crush the rebellion in northern Uganda, which has displaced up to a million people.

POLITICS-JAMAICA: New Constitution to Give British Queen the Boot

Jamaicans are moving closer to dropping the queen of England as their titular head of state and severing the country's last formal ties with its old colonial power.

POLITICS: Commonwealth Officials in Nigeria Ahead of the December Summit

Preparations are at top gears as Nigeria gets set to host heads of state and government of the Commonwealth summit in the capital Abuja on Dec. 5-8.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Leaders Appeal for Talks Not War

If Africa is to advance economically and socially, sincere dialoguing must replace armed conflict, strikes and dirty politics, delegates at a heads of state summit held in Swaziland this week agreed.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Gov’t, Critics Use Summit to Highlight Their Case

A growing reform movement, abetted by radical labour unions, is being heard louder than ever this week at the commencement of a British Commonwealth summit being held in Swaziland from Aug. 12 to Aug. 16.

LABOUR-SWAZILAND: Protest Marches to Coincide with Heads of State Summit

Former South African President Nelson Mandela will lead a global contingent of present and past heads of state at the British Commonwealth SMART Partnership Summit, or Global 2003, which will be held in Swaziland on Aug. 13.

DEVELOPMENT: Globalising Civil Struggle to Deepen Democracy

With a call to globalise civil resistance in order to put the brakes on the "hegemony of social fascism", Portuguese intellectual Boaventura de Sousa Santos inaugurated the third World Social Thematic Forum (WSTF) in Colombia.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Blueprint Polishes the Chains of Global Apartheid

With this year's Group of Eight (G-8) summit starting in Evian, France, this weekend, civil society critics are united on the belief that while the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has good intentions, it will not break the chains of global capital.