DEVELOPMENT: Broken Aid Promises Dim Hopes for MDGs

At a major international conference on financing for development in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002, more than 100 world leaders pledged to help eradicate poverty, achieve sustained economic growth and promote sustainable development.

CHILE: Amnesty for Immigrants a Stride Forward, Not a Magic Bullet

Immigrant rights advocates welcomed the amnesty for undocumented Latin American immigrants offered by the Chilean government, but said it is not a cure-all.

NICARAGUA: Of Forests, Floods, Fatalities and Famine

The forces of nature are giving Nicaragua no respite. After the hurricane that devastated the country’s northeastern Caribbean coast in September, weeks of torrential rains have claimed lives and caused economic damages, and now the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is warning of famine.

MIGRATION: Fortress Europe Should Lower Its Drawbridge, Says NGO

The European Union is set to open its doors wide to qualified immigrants with its blue card system, and at the same time slam them even more tightly shut to undocumented workers, of whom there are 10 million in the bloc, including 700,000 in Spain.

DEVELOPMENT: Women Make a Seven-Year Pitch

Calls for a renewed commitment to women's human rights are on the rise as the world's top policymakers gather here this week to discuss international funding for development.

ELECTIONS-ARGENTINA: Cristina’s Low-Income Voter Support Base

Although Argentine First Lady Cristina Fernández is a well-heeled lawyer with an impressive track record as a politician, the front-runner for Sunday’s presidential elections is not favoured by her peers. Instead, her main support comes from lower income sectors, analysts say.

DEVELOPMENT: Pakistanis Challenge World Bank Over Water Works

Pakistani plaintiffs say the World Bank has yet to make good on promises to fix flaws blamed for lost lives and livelihoods along the world's largest irrigation system.

ENVIRONMENT-CUBA: Restoring Lost Balance in Nature

Efforts to restore degraded island ecosystems are already producing results in the central Cuban province of Villa Clara, where scientists from different disciplines have been fomenting environmentally-friendly practices since the beginning of this decade.

Q&A: &#39How the MDGs Could Curtail Development&#39

Some of the ways in which the MDGs are being pushed could actually limit development, says Inge Kaul, former director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office of Development Studies.

EDUCATION-UAE: ‘Dubai Cares’ Charity a Runaway Success

After the ‘Dubai Cares’ charity initiative to provide education for underprivileged children raised more than 220 million US dollars, it became clear that this wealthy global business hub is serious about doing its bit to help meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

AFGHANISTAN: Unveiling Women&#39s Rights

A giggly, sweet demeanour masks Shaqofa's toughness.

Her dark hair swept up in a traditional headscarf secured under a standard police cap, Shaqofa offers a stark contrast to the many Afghan women who don the restrictive, full-length burqa, a symbol of Taliban rule in the 1990s still observed six years after the regime's fall.

PARAGUAY: Environmentalists Up in Arms Over Mega-Port

Residents, environmentalists and local and national authorities in Paraguay are at odds over the pros and cons of a port complex being built by U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill on the outskirts of the capital.

Q&A: &#39Women Need Help to Deliver&#39

The Women Deliver conference held in London last week has reminded a lot of people in the world of healthcare how much more they need to deliver to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for women.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Water – "Just a Matter of Delivery"?

The main religious ceremony of the Swazi people is the "Incwala" or ‘Festival of the First Fruits’, held in late December. Dressed in traditional attire, tens of thousands of Swazi men and women dance and chant prayers to their ancestors. They seek good rains that will ensure abundant crops.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Issue of Services Is Delaying EPA Talks

Including the so-called new generation or Singapore issues in the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) will make the conclusion of the deals unlikely by the December 31 deadline.

DEVELOPMENT: Donors Lack “Political Courage”

Diplomats here are warning of possible setbacks to U.N.-led development initiatives in Africa if the rich donor countries do not change their ways on international aid and trade.

DEVELOPMENT: Farming Boost Could Lift a Billion People

The World Bank urged greater investment in the developing world's farms Friday, warning that failure to boost agriculture would doom the international community's ambition to halve extreme poverty in the next eight years.

EGYPT: An Environmental Make-Over for an Ancient Industry

Air pollution is so bad in Cairo that living in the sprawling city of 18 million residents is said to be akin to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. According to the World Health Organisation, the average Cairene ingests more than 20 times the acceptable level of air pollution a day.

TRADE-WEST AFRICA: &#39&#39No Postponement of EPA Deadline&#39&#39 – EU

The European Union has rejected calls by West African states to postpone the end-of-year deadline for concluding a free trade agreement.

BRAZIL: Green-Friendly Image Yields Dividends for Business

One company is offering reforestation services for areas damaged by soil erosion, another advises factories on how to become carbon neutral, and a third offers environmental laboratory services to assess ecological damage. This new generation of business values the "eco-efficient lifestyle."

EUROPE: Treaty Tinkered With, Not Amended

Bleary-eyed European Union leaders agreed a 'reform treaty' for the 27-country bloc after a working dinner in Lisbon continued until the early hours of the morning Oct. 19. Yet despite suggestions that governments like those of Poland and Britain had driven a hard bargain, sizeable chunks of the text they signed up to are identical to the EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.