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.

CARIBBEAN: Jamaican Groups Reject Regional Court

While the region's governments are busy organising the inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), expected to take place in a blaze of colour and ceremony in a matter of months, Jamaican groups continue to press leaders here to reject the body.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Dangers Multiply for Defenders

In more than 80 countries citizens face grave danger if they try to create an association or trade union, investigate forced disappearances or arbitrary arrests, denounce torture or document human rights violations, say activists.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: Praying for a Peaceful Poll

Nigerians have turned to God to avert violence that may erupt during the country's general elections, which kick off Saturday.

RIGHTS: Women Demand Major Say in Africa’s Development

As African leaders and business executives gather in South Africa's commercial capital Johannesburg on Monday for a three-day dialogue within the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), African businesswomen say the "gender blind" blueprint needs a major overhaul to benefit women.