RIGHTS: EU &#39Half-Hearted&#39 in Backing Gender Equality

The European Union's efforts to promote gender equality in poor countries have been dubbed "half-hearted" by the bloc's only directly elected institution.

TRADE-MAURITIUS: Clothing Sector Not Hanging by a Thread Anymore

Mauritius had almost lost hope for its textile and clothing industry after the closure of several big factories over the past few years. The sector dropped to a negative growth rate of -12.5 percent in 2006 but has since been revamped to manufacture upmarket goods.

MAURITIUS: There Is Life After 40 Years of Trade Preferences

‘‘The days of trade preferences and of cheap food are over. We are living in an era of competition and we have no choice but to reduce our costs of production.’’

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: “Leadership Doesn’t Act Like It Is a Crisis”

A substantial increase in the number of Swazis requiring food aid has raised questions in this Southern African country. Why the rise, and how long are the higher numbers likely to prevail? More fundamentally, what has caused such widespread and enduring hunger to begin with?

ECONOMY: Globalisation &#39Localises&#39 Inequality

Is the big North-South-divide finally diminishing? It seems to be, though slowly.

AFRICA: Caught Between Peacekeeping and Development

The beleaguered U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sudan, handicapped by lack of troops and helicopters, has come under fire for its unusually high costs.

TRADE-NAMIBIA: Setback to EPZ Policy as Large Investor Leaves

The Namibian government plans to stay the course with export processing zones (EPZ) despite one of the largest of the foreign investors, Malaysian textile company Ramatex, deciding last week to close down its operations-a move that will destroy 3,000 jobs.

LEBANON: The Lights Are Going Out in Beirut

Sporadic gunfire erupts, breaking the silence of the night. A few police cars speed up, heading east. Their lights flashing in the dark and their sirens echoing across the shanty neighbourhoods, they rapidly cross the run down metallic Basta bridge in the direction of the shootout.

IRAQ: Childhood Is Dying

Iraq's children have been more gravely affected by the U.S. occupation than any other segment of the population.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Training Anaesthesiologists to Do, And To Train

The need for a global effort to address the shortage of anaesthesiologists in Africa was highlighted over the past week during the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists - which took place in Cape Town, South Africa.

ENVIRONMENT-MEXICO: Record Reforestation, But Some Still Sceptical

A year ago, environmental activists criticised Mexico's national forest policy, saying it was deceptive and insufficient. Now voices are being heard that extol the government's effort and its goal to plant 280 million trees in 2008 - 30 million more than in 2007.

INDONESIA: Women Still Pay Decade After Asian Meltdown

Over a decade after the Asian financial crisis, Indonesian women are still feeling the pinch of losing their jobs, says a leading trade unionist from the archipelago.

EUROPE: Water Aid To Go Public, A Little

The European Commission has indicated that it will take steps to address claims that private firms have been given preferential treatment in a flagship aid programme for improving water services in Africa.

RIGHTS: U.N. Confident of New Agency for Women

As the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) concluded its two-week session in New York Friday, United Nations officials remain hopeful that the proposal for a new U.N. agency for women would become a reality.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Anaesthesiology on Life Support

A discussion about anaesthesiology and anaesthesiologists is something that could bring on drowsiness, even sleep...Until, that is, the talk turns to shortages of anaesthesiologists in Africa and how this can increase surgical mortality. Statistics on this matter are frightening enough to keep anyone awake.

TRADE-AFRICA: Agriculture Talks Stuck on Import Surge Safeguard

The Group of 33 developing countries has denounced the draft text on the special safeguard mechanism in the current Doha Development Round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks as ‘‘extremely inadequate... stringent, restrictive, burdensome (and) ineffective’’.

TRADE-AFRICA: Why Food Import Surges Are an Issue at The WTO

Food import surges have had devastating consequences for the rural poor and local economies in Africa. Such surges have taken place with alarming frequency in the past decade or two.

WOMEN&#39S DAY-KENYA: Equal Pay in Theory, Not Always in Fact

On Mar. 8, a century ago, thousands took to the streets of New York in demonstrations aimed at improving life for women. Burning issues of the day included the need for better working conditions - higher pay, a shorter work day - and winning the right to vote.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Women Push For Political Space In Patriarchy

Saeeda Anwar is a 38-year-old Pakistani schoolteacher. She works in a school here in the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), but she is not allowed to exercise her franchise.

RIGHTS: Fund to Fight Gender Violence Puts Donors to the Test

The U.N. "Trust Fund to End Violence against Women" has risen significantly over the last year: from 3.5 million dollars in 2006 to over 15 million dollars in 2007.

RIGHTS: Global Poll Shows Strong Support for Gender Equality

Large majorities of people around the world agree that women should enjoy full equality of rights compared to men, according to a survey of nearly 15,000 respondents in 16 developed and developing countries released here Thursday by WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO).