TRADE-AFRICA: &#39&#39Focus Should Be on Domestic Needs, Not Exports&#39&#39

African states should address the needs of local markets and of their regions before looking at what can be exported globally, and not the other way round as is currently the case.

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Radioactive Water, the Price of Gold

Large gold-mining companies operating to the west of South Africa's commercial centre, Johannesburg, stand accused of contaminating a number of water sources with radioactive pollutants.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Forests, the Great Green Hope?

Expanding European forests absorbed 126 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from 1990 to 2005 - equivalent to 11 percent of European Union emissions from human activities - while a U.N. target to plant one billion trees mainly in Africa has been surpassed.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: “Make the Issue of Water Attractive to the Authorities”

To tackle droughts in Southern Africa, one needs to think out of the box instead of pointing fingers at obvious causes such as lack of rainfall, experts said this week during the third Zambezi Basinwide Stakeholders Forum, held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Ideology Trumping Health, U.S. Activists Say

On the eve of World AIDS Day Saturday, the U.S. Park Police arrested 40 demonstrators outside the White House as they chanted for sweeping changes to the George W. Bush administration's domestic and global AIDS policies.

WORLD AIDS DAY-KENYA: Many Firms Still Ignoring the Bottom Line on HIV

HIV/AIDS cuts workers down in their prime, taking to the grave a wealth of training and experience that companies can ill afford to lose. Lower productivity, absenteeism from work and increased medical bills exact a further toll on the private sector - all of which begs the question: are employers being sufficiently active in helping to fight AIDS?

WORLD AIDS DAY: Community Action Is Key to Prevention

The United Nations presented the call for nominations for the Red Ribbon Award 2008 to honour community leadership and action against HIV/AIDS in the Mexican capital Friday.

WORLD AIDS DAY-EL SALVADOR: More People Testing Positive

The rise in new HIV/AIDS cases in El Salvador shows either that the government strategy to combat the epidemic is failing, or that a larger proportion of the population is being tested, depending on the respective viewpoints of non-governmental organisations and local authorities.

RIGHTS: UN Spotlights “Massive and Systematic” Abuse of Women

Millions of women across the world are beaten, killed, bought and sold by men, yet the gruesome violence and cruel treatment they face every day rarely makes headlines in the global media.

TRADE-EAST AFRICA: EPA Signed to &#39&#39Protect&#39&#39 Small Farmers

The East African Community signed a framework agreement as part of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) talks with the European Union (EU) to ensure continued access to EU markets for African small farmers, says Juma Mwapachu, secretary general of the East African regional body.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Catholics Snub Vatican’s Condom Ban

As millions of people plan to show solidarity with the struggle against HIV/AIDS on Saturday, a new multi-nation poll released in Washington by the group Catholics for Choice shows that a majority of Catholics around the world believe that - contrary to the edicts coming from Rome - "good Catholics can use condoms".

TRADE: Blood Diamonds No Longer Congo-Brazzaville’s Best Friend

The announcement that the Republic of the Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, has been readmitted to the Kimberley Process, which aims to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, marks a breakthrough.

TRADE-AFRICA: EPAs Under Fire From European Parliamentarians

No fanfare was made in Brussels in the past week over European Union officials' breakthrough in the trade talks on economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with almost 80 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

WORLD AIDS DAY-INDIA: Sexing Up Safe Sex to Limit HIV Spread

Sex workers in this eastern metropolis are being encouraged to put pleasure back into their services as one way of limiting the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

FRANCE: Troubled Suburbs Erupt Again

The police station is a smouldering abandoned ruin, its roof gone, its walls charred black, and tiles scattered about its courtyard. From behind its locked gates the pungent stench of burned wood and plastic is carried on the wind into the street.

HEALTH-THAILAND: &#39Deny Drug Addicts Anti-HIV Treatment, Feed Epidemic&#39

Thailand’s reputation as a world leader in combating the spread of HIV and AIDS is being challenged by a new study which accuses Bangkok of ignoring those most vulnerable to the virus - drug users.

SOUTH AFRICA: A Tale of Ongoing Water and Sanitation Woes

When the number of people reported with diarrhoea began to increase alarmingly in the town of Delmas in Mpumalanga Province towards the end of October, residents had flashbacks to an outbreak of diarrhoea and typhoid that took place in August and September, 2005. They feared the worst as the number of cases grew in the community of about 45,000 people - 60 kilometres east of South Africa's financial centre, Johannesburg.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Racism, Gov&#39t Apathy Fuel U.S. Epidemic

The United States has slashed the AIDS death rate among white and wealthy U.S. citizens, but the disease continues to ravage the black community at full force, leaders say.

ENVIRONMENT-ASIA: Bank&#39s Water Report – Wakeup Call for Leaders

A report released by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) in this affluent city-state on Thursday urges the region’s policymakers to place water-related issues high on their development agenda.

RIGHTS-CHINA: What Will EU Stress At Summit?

Issues ranging from food safety to German contact with the Dalai Lama are creating tension ahead of a Nov. 28 summit between the European Union and China in Beijing. Yet, these political ‘hot potatoes’ do not diminish the attractiveness of the Chinese market for Western firms.

LABOUR: Decent Work Scarcer Than Ever

The world has the resources, wealth and knowledge to make economic, social and cultural well-being universal, according to the biennial U.N. report on the World Social Situation (RWSS) released here Monday.