HEALTH: After Successful U.S. Suits, Nigeria Takes on Big Tobacco

Cigarette packs sold in Nigeria carry a health warning: ‘‘The Federal Ministry of Health warns that cigarette smokers are liable to die young.’’ But, says the government, this warning has not stopped many Nigerian youngsters from smoking.

GHANA: Rapid ‘Development’ Leaves Poor Without Toilets

There are many things that confirm the rich-poor divide in the Ghanaian capital.

POLITICS-BOLIVIA: Morales Reaches Two-Year Milestone

Exalted by the success of his social programmes, but harassed by opponents who are threatening to declare de facto autonomy in four of Bolivia’s nine departments (provinces), indigenous President Evo Morales completes two years of his mandate on Tuesday, a milestone the country’s three previous presidents failed to reach.

HEALTH: Loss of 9.7 Million Children Unacceptable, Says UNICEF

The sharp decline in deaths among infants and children worldwide during the past century is "one of the great success stories in international public health", the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said Tuesday.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Kenya’s Forum to Debate Democracy

During the World Social Forum (WSF) held in Kenya in January of 2007 one of the many presentations was about democracy and the general elections that were to be held here in December.

Q&A: ‘WSF Is As Much a Cultural Struggle As a Political One’

The movement against capitalism, injustice and oppression requires a strong convergence of social organisations that have fully accepted their differences, said sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos, who predicted serious future difficulties for World Social Forum (WSF) meetings.

TRADE-AFRICA: Doha Round Stuck on Issues of Development (Again)

African negotiators are concerned that their development concerns have been sidelined in the much vaunted Doha Development Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Whether the round, which has missed previous deadlines, will be concluded this year or not depends on several issues.

CHALLENGES 2007-2008: U.S. Election Fever May Delay Doha Talks

A busy negotiating schedule is lined up for this year at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The question remains whether negotiators will have to continue passing the time as the powers-that-be in Washington are consumed by pre-election politics, or if the technical solutions which they have been working on could, in fact, lead to a conclusion of the Doha Development Round.

ECONOMY-AFRICA: Controversial Proposals Expected at WEF Gathering

The seemingly incongruous presence of Bono, a pop singer rarely spotted without his wraparound sunglasses amid the sombre suits of business and political leaders attending the World Economic Forum (WEF), should ensure that the question of how to end African poverty features prominently in media coverage of the January 23-27 event.

POLITICS-GUATEMALA: New President Pledges ‘Privileges for the Poor’

Social Democrat Álvaro Colom, winner of the presidential elections in Nov. 2007, took office this week amidst great challenges and great expectations. Guatemalans are anxious for better security and economic improvement, analysts say.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: The Public Eye Is Watching

Civil society is in Davos, Switzerland once again to keep a watchful eye on events at the World Economic Forum (WEF). The social and environmental behaviour of 1,000 of the world’s most powerful companies will be scutinised at this annual meeting of business leaders, presidents and prime ministers, and free-market economics experts.

DEVELOPMENT: Quantum Leap in South-South Investments and Trade

The world's emerging economies - including China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia and Thailand - have made a quantum leap in their investments in the global South and in trade with developing nations.

Q&A: “There Must Be a U-turn to Create Healthy Domestic Markets”

In 1992, Dr. Walden Bello issued a macro-economic warning about the so-called Asian miracle in his book "Dragons in Distress". Six years later, the Asian financial crisis Bello predicted swept the region, throwing millions into poverty.

HEALTH-BRAZIL: Yellow Fever – Epidemic or False Alarm?

The Brazilian Health Ministry is fighting a war on two fronts. It is taking measures to prevent an outbreak of sylvatic (or jungle) yellow fever while countering speculation in the press about an imminent epidemic of the disease. There have been no cases of urban yellow fever in the country since 1942.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: Children of the Genocide Struggle to Cope

What Gilbert Nshimyumukiza remembers most about the Rwandan genocide is that it started to rain as he and his brothers tried to carry his mortally wounded father back into their house.

DEVELOPMENT-BRAZIL: Solidarity Economy Combats Exclusion

The Harmony Agricultural Company has become Brazil’s largest worker-managed business in the solidarity economy. It provides employment for 4,300 families who work 26,000 hectares of land, and its main activity is producing sugar at 48 mills.

CLIMATE-NIGERIA: Inefficient Gas Flaring Remains Unchecked

"The Federal Government policy to stop gas flaring commences on Jan. 1, 2008, and any company which flares gas after that time would be shut down." This was the strong warning from the Nigerian government in October last year to multinational oil companies operating in the country.

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: Urban Youth Slipping Through The Cracks

As the new school year begins here many destitute or orphaned children are in need of assistance to pay for their educations. An unknown number of urban youngsters, however, are slipping through the social welfare net.

MEXICO: Army, Paramilitary Build-Up in Zapatista Stronghold

The Zapatista guerrillas and their supporters in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas are experiencing the worst onslaught by state forces in the last 10 years, although most people are unaware of the fact, according to reports from a research centre working in the area.

ENVIRONMENT: Report Finds Rising Tide of Green Financing

There appears to be hope for the planet yet.

ECONOMY: Global Prospects Pinned on Developing World

The world is entering its second straight year of a U.S.-led economic slowdown but resilient developing economies are cushioning the effects, the World Bank said Wednesday in a report portending pain for the poorest.