Q&A: "Political Power Is Still Very Masculine"

For women's rights and women's empowerment groups, the 3rd High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, in September, and the U.N. Conference on Financing for Development in Doha, in December, are opportunities to advance financing for gender equality issues.

AGRICULTURE-CUBA: Fresh Produce for City-Dwellers

Urban farming has taken off in Cuba over the last two decades, based on low-cost agro-ecological practices and a stable labour force, and could serve as a model for the rest of the agriculture sector in this period of reforms.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Record Gain in Antiretroviral Coverage

They may be known in South-east Asia for their poverty, but that has not stopped Cambodia and Laos from caring for people living with HIV/AIDS. Both countries have increased the supply of the life-prolonging anti-AIDS drugs at home.

COLOMBIA: Women Working Abroad Keep Provincial Economy Alive

The so-called Coffee Belt region accounts for 60 percent of Colombians who leave the country, and the majority of those leaving are female. Once they are abroad, these women become the breadwinners of their families, with the resulting impact on household income extending to the provincial economy.

TRADE: Doha Round Crumbles to Dust

The Doha Round of multilateral trade talks was brought crashing down late Tuesday by the same discrepancies between rich and poor countries that have marked the nearly seven years of negotiations from the start.

DEVELOPMENT: Think Tank Urges Major Changes in U.S. Food Aid

The United States should urgently implement major changes in its emergency food aid and overseas trade and development policies to deal with the record rise in global grain prices that is threatening recent gains in poverty reduction in many developing countries, according to a report by a bipartisan task force sponsored by a major foreign policy think tank here.

HEALTH: U.N. Claims Major Progress in AIDS Fight

Although the global percentage of people living with HIV has stabilised since 2000, the overall number of people living with HIV has increased due to new infections each year and wider access to antiretroviral therapy, says the new UNAIDS report on the epidemic.

EDUCATION-ZAMBIA: Will Teachers Come To the Party?

"Life in the rural areas is unbearable, and teachers are not to blame for their refusal to take up rural posting. It is unfair for government to post young teachers to hard-to-reach rural areas," said Freddie Chongo (25), a primary school teacher in Mumbwa District, some 170 kilometres west of Zambia’s capital Lusaka.

LABOUR-EL SALVADOR: Near Universal Poverty Wages

Eighty-one percent of the economically active population of El Salvador do not earn decent wages, and two out of three young people are under- or unemployed, according to the 2007-2008 Human Development Report on this Central American country.

BRAZIL: Market Access – Key to Autonomy for Rural Black Community

From the 16th century onward, the densely forested, mountainous terrain of the Ribeira River Valley made it an ideal area for runaway slaves to establish settlements of their own, known in Brazil as "quilombos". But the geographical isolation that once offered refuge has now become an obstacle to the development of these Afro-Brazilian communities.

GHANA: Relations With China – Into The Claws of Another Predator?

More and more, China seems to be taking up any commodity that can be had from Ghana. From copper waste and scrap, timber and natural rubber to aluminium waste and scrap and vegetable products are being exported to the upcoming Asian superpower.

TRADE: Zimbabwe Overshadowed Development Issues at EU-SA Summit

The friendly atmosphere at the first ever European Union-South Africa in Bordeaux, France, at the end of last week may largely be attributed to how South African President Thabo Mbeki had helped convince Robert Mugabe, his Zimbabwean counterpart, to negotiate directly with Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, a few days earlier.

TRADE: EU ''Rushing'' EPAs Lest African States Change Their Minds

Brussels is tempted to skip the translation of the interim economic partnership agreements (EPAs) into the 23 official European languages because of concerns that some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries may change their minds about signing the final agreements.

ENVIRONMENT-BURKINA FASO: Winning People Over to Fight Deforestation

In the West African nation of Burkina Faso, millions of trees are planted every year to reverse desertification. However the growing socio-economic needs of local populations pose a constant threat to these efforts.

Q&A: 'We Need Policies That Address Climate Change'

Last year, Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo faced a crippling water crisis, after three of its five supply dams went dry. Some high density suburbs went for over three months without water.

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Made in Khayelitsha, Sold in New York

Entering the Monkeybiz shop, one is confronted with hundreds of brightly coloured beaded animals, dolls, place mats and pictures. You find yourself smiling involuntarily.

AFRICA: Link Between Crop Failure and Climate Change Often Missed

Climate change has a profound effect on food security in Africa, as increasing temperatures and shifting rain patterns reduce access to food across the continent.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Encroach On Karzai’s Turf

Dozens of civilians were killed over the weekend in Afghanistan, the latest in the trend of spiralling violence that has engulfed the embattled nation. The civilian casualties, Taliban attacks and troop casualty numbers are putting increasing strain on the Western-led coalition, leading some to speculate that the war is unwinnable.

DEVELOPMENT: Gender Focus Urged for U.S. Aid

Women's groups weighed in Tuesday on the growing debate over new goals and strategies for U.S. foreign aid, arguing that to work effectively, foreign aid should target women.

BRAZIL: Livelihoods Vs. Environment – Afro-Descendants Caught in the Middle

"They won’t let us plant our crops," says Leonila Costa Pontes, referring to the laws that require an environmental permit for her to cultivate her small plot of land.

ENERGY: Solar Thermal Power Coming to a Boil

After emerging in 2006 from 15 years of hibernation, the solar thermal power industry experienced a surge in 2007, with 100 megawatts of new capacity coming online worldwide.