RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Gov’t Considering Water Subsidies For Poor

The Namibian government, frequently accused of making water unaffordable to the poor, is finally taking steps to address this countrywide problem that threatens to hamper the country’s efforts to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by world leaders at a special United Nations General Assembly meeting in 2000.

DEVELOPMENT: South Asia Exports Sanitation Successes

Practical solutions to the global sanitation crisis will require greater knowledge-sharing among developing nations, and also even more support for those efforts by multilateral institutions like the World Bank and United Nations, experts say.

RIGHTS: Ignoring Girls&#39 Welfare Carries High Price

Investing in young women and girls in developing regions must be a top priority for governments, multilateral agencies and the private sector, say the authors of a report released here this week.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Africa, South Asia Could Face Famines

Climate change will cause major disruptions in the global food system, and adaptation to those changes needs to begin immediately, experts say.

HEALTH: Rural Zimbabwe Fertile Ground for HIV/AIDS

They left the country in search of jobs to better their lives, but village elders in rural Tsholotsho, say young men who left home to fend for their families are losing their lives at alarming rates to HIV/AIDS related ailments.

Q&A: ‘Half Our Job Is Done If We Have The Imams On Our Side’

At 31, Dr Donya Aziz, was the youngest legislator to join the previous Pakistan Muslim League (Q) government. Busy running for the February elections, Aziz wants to get back into the assembly and resume the work she had to leave off when President Pervez Musharraf clamped emergency rule on Nov. 3, 2007 and dissolved the house.

EL SALVADOR: Benefits of Free Trade Deal Still Remote

The Salvadoran government had proclaimed that from the moment of its entry into force, the free trade agreement with the United States would boost the local economy, creating thousands of jobs, so that even street vendors would be exporting their typical snacks. But nearly two years later, the economic paradise has yet to arrive.

TRADE: Barroso’s EPA Intervention to Be ”More Than Symbolic”

Conscious that trade issues had become a major source of friction between African countries and their former colonial overlords, the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso extended an olive branch in December.

TRADE-MALAWI: Caught Between Two Economic Blocs

Malawi finally has to face up to the dilemma of choosing between being a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or to stick with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) if it is to continue receiving funding from the European Union (EU).

GHANA: Pollution Forcing Farmers Into Illegal Mining?

Environmental groups have for several years accused mining companies in Ghana of destroying the environment. In a strange twist of events, it now seems that farmers have turned to illegal mining as a result of the devastation of the pollution caused by mining activities.

Q&A: ‘Water Meters Are Good for the Environment and Good for Wallets’

Water shortage is not uncommon in Cape Town, South Africa. For the past years the warm summer months - of November until February - saw water restrictions imposed by the city authorities. The restrictions prohibited residents from using potable water for the irrigation of lawns and gardens as well as using hosepipes to wash motor vehicles, pavements, and any movable or immovable structure.

EDUCATION-SOUTH AFRICA: ‘We Need All Hands on Deck to Solve The Crisis’

Teachers who are not trained properly, teacher strikes and HIV/AIDS are taking a huge toll on the educational system in South Africa.

HEALTH: U.S. AIDS Plan Still Falling Short, Groups Say

Health worker shortages in sub-Saharan Africa and a disproportionate HIV/AIDS burden on women in the region necessitate an increase in funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) prior to a congressional vote next week, human rights groups and advocates say.

MALAWI: &#39&#39Trade Capacity Is Worse Despite Preferential Access&#39&#39

Malawians still await the details of the impending economic partnership agreement (EPA) which their government is entering into with the European Union (EU).

MIDEAST: Faeces Change the Face of Gaza

A stream of dark and putrid sludge snakes through Gaza’s streets. It is a noxious mix of human and animal waste. The stench is overwhelming. The occasional passer-by vomits.

DEVELOPMENT: UN Chief Calls for 2010 MDG Targets

UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon has called on world leaders to agree some 2010 milestones towards achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

TRADE: EU Stands to Increase Market Share in Africa With EPAs

While the real impact of the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) on the economies of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will be ‘‘small’’, the pace of negotiations and of the liberalisation of their markets is too fast and will damage their economies, according to numerous French economists and development experts.

DEVELOPMENT: Biofuels a Lose-Lose Strategy, Critics Say

U.S. biofuels production is driving up food prices around the world, giving billions of poor people a very good reason to hate U.S. policy, say environmentalists.

Q&A: "It Is Upon Us to Pave the Way for Sustainability"

Anuradha Mittal is an internationally renowned expert on trade, development, human rights and agriculture. In 2004, she founded the Oakland Institute, a policy think tank focused on social, economic and environmental issues.

TRADE: ”Divide and Rule” Manoeuvre Planned for WTO Doha Round?

Process issues have once again risen to the fore in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as members brace themselves for the release of a new set of negotiating texts for agricultural and industrial tariff liberalisation at the end of this month or early February.

TRADE: Namibia Happy With EPA Deal – For Now

Namibia held out longer than the majority of its counterparts in Southern Africa before signing the interim economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union, managing in the process to squeeze some concessions from Brussels after intense diplomatic efforts.