TRADE-MAURITIUS: EPAs Should Be Subjected to Electoral Test

''Here is a free trade agreement between rich and poor countries in which the former are trying to impose a reciprocal system of trade on the latter, with major consequences for poor people.''

LATIN AMERICA: Critics Sceptical of Business Community’s Concern About Poverty

Regional business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Latin America admitted that unequal distribution of wealth is a crucial problem, and said they want to contribute to its solution.

TRADE-AFRICA: EPAs Like ”Irrigation for Economic Growth”

African and European negotiators in the economic partnership agreement (EPA) talks for eastern and southern Africa have refuted criticism from local and international civil society organisations about the possible negative effects of the proposed deal.

TRADE: EPA may ”Destroy” Malawi’s Manufacturing Potential

Economic circles in eastern and southern Africa are abuzz with discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) which governments of these countries are negotiating with the European Union (EU).

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: “Many Men Fear Losing Their Power”

One in four women in an abusive relationship, a woman killed approximately every week by her close male partner: these figures, from People Opposing Women Abuse, a Johannesburg-based non-profit, indicate the extent of the problem posed by gender-related violence in South Africa.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: ”Extreme Water Events” Predicted

In Africa, 25 countries are expected to experience water scarcity or water stress in the next 20 to 30 years. This translates into 16 percent or 230 million of Africa's population facing water scarcity by 2025, and 32 percent or 460 million people living in water-stressed countries by that time.

RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Homeless Join Month of Protests

The Homeless Workers Movement (MTST) blocked three access roads into Sao Paulo on Wednesday, continuing a month-long struggle during which they have invaded a large number of buildings and unoccupied urban sites in several state capitals.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Activists and Military Officers Hand in Hand

Joined together in an enormous human chain and singing songs that marked the end of Portugal's 48-year dictatorship on Apr. 25, 1974, military officers who overthrew the regime and human rights activists from 105 different countries came out in defence of the world's migrants.

DEVELOPMENT: Biofuels vs Food Crops?

While South Africa is planning on increasing biofuels production some experts warn the move may hurt subsistence farmers and cause more hunger in impoverished areas of the country.

HEALTH-MEXICO: Abortion No Longer a Crime in Capital

The Mexico City legislature voted Tuesday to legalise abortion, after several weeks of heated debate in which conservative groups and the Catholic Church traded insults with pro-choice activists and threatened them with excommunication.

POLITICS-MALI: A Presidential Election That Breaks With Tradition

When Malians queue to cast ballots in presidential elections Sunday, they will be participating in a poll with a difference: for the first time ever, a woman will be amongst the candidates voters have to choose between.

BIODIVERSITY: Cities Eating Up Resources and Habitat

Disproportionate growth of the world's urban population could result in further loss of many forms of life on Earth, warn experts in the sciences of climate change and biodiversity.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Chile, a Host with Headaches of Its Own

The World Economic Forum (WEF) for Latin America will kick off this week in the Chilean capital amid harsh criticism by ruling coalition legislators of the free-market policies followed by Finance Minister Andrés Velasco.

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Political Sins Continue to Scar the Land

While South Africa's "homelands" - areas formerly set aside for blacks - have been relegated to the dustbin of history for more than a decade, their legacy lives on in the form of land degradation, and even desertification in northern and eastern parts of the country.

ENVIRONMENT: "Green Nobel" for Fighting Extractive Industries, Defending Wildlife

The common denominator of all six winners of this year's Goldman Prize, often referred to as the "Green Nobel", is their effectiveness in fighting big fights to protect the environment despite their relative anonymity.

MIGRATION-CHILE: Celebrating Multiculturalism

As a tangible way of appreciating diversity, tolerance and non-discrimination, and in order to launch a debate about migration policy in Chile, university students are organising the First Multicultural Festival to be held in the capital on the weekend of May 26-27.

DEVELOPMENT: Australia Social Forum Is Possible

While the organisers have proclaimed the third Melbourne Social Forum (MSF), which concluded here on Sunday, a hit, some participants say the event could have been more representative.

TRADE-AFRICA: Microfinance Tackles AIDS Head On

With two-thirds of the world's HIV/AIDS victims living in sub-Saharan Africa, sickness and death is too often a part of doing business in the region. But now microfinance institutions have found ways to reduce financial risk while attacking new infections.

TRADE-KENYA: Farmers Ask Germany to Intervene in EPAs

Fears are high among Kenyan farmers that a new trade regime following a forthcoming deal between developing countries and the European Union (EU) may drive them deeper into poverty.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Neighbours Remain Mute Amid Flood of Refugees

The rattling sound of galvanized tins has become characteristic of Patience's* daily routine which starts at 4 am every day. Patience (43), a single mother, is one of the many who rush in the early morning to the Zimbabwean capital's Mbare Musika market to buy fruit and vegetables to hawk.

DEVELOPMENT-TANZANIA: MDGs a ”Bright Idea” or Scam of the Rich?

While the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a ‘‘bright idea'', the ‘‘hidden agenda'' of western countries makes it impossible for African states like Tanzania to achieve the goals, expounds actor Rashid Mkwinda.