WOMEN-MEDIA: Stuck at the Starting Gate

"We should not be all that surprised that we are stalled," says Jane Ransom, executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), referring to the absence of women leaders in media organisations.

G8 SUMMIT: Japan To Champion Africa's Cause

The state of the world economy will as usual top the agenda of the G8 summit of major western industrial nations. But Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who will chair the high-level gathering, is keen to devote equal attention to climate change and the development of Africa.

BOLIVIA-PERU: Titicaca Truths Revealed

Nobody doubts that Lake Titicaca, a watershed and resource shared by Bolivia and Peru, is polluted. But a half-century after the two governments realised there was a problem there are still no detailed studies of the state of its waters.

DEVELOPMENT: More Food Summits, But Less to Eat

After two major U.N. food summits, one in 1996 and the other in 2002, the international community pledged to alleviate hunger and reduce malnutrition.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Children in the Path of the Pandemic

There is barely a path leading down the steep incline and through the dense bush to the Mabuyakhulu homestead. It would be easy to pass by without finding 13 year old Zanele* and her eight year old sister Andiswa who stay there on their own.

BURMA: Nargis Victims Forced From Camps

A global human rights lobby slammed Burma’s military regime for driving survivors who have endured untold hardship since last month’s powerful cyclone into further misery.

WOMEN-MEDIA: Conspicuous By Their Absence

Observe any summit picture - you won't find many women. The mystery of female underrepresentation in the echelons of power persists: after so many decades of the feminist movement, why are women at the helm scarce? A look at the media sector may provide some answers.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Greens, Lawmakers Assail World Bank Funds

"Climate Investment Funds" to be run by the World Bank and backed by the George W. Bush administration are drawing fire from lawmakers and environmentalists who say the initiatives will accomplish little against global warming.

PAKISTAN: School Bombings Force Girls to Drop Out

"I am disappointed about quitting school, but my parents want me to stay at home," says Sumaira Begum, a student of class 8 at the Government High School Mardan in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP). "On Mar. 20, my school was bombed after which nearly 100 girls including I stopped attending."

EDUCATION-KENYA: Students Pour In, Teachers Drain Away

Six hundred teachers have left classrooms in Kenyan schools for better paying jobs elsewhere in just the past six months, according to the Head Teachers Association and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT). That is about three teachers leaving the service every day.

LATIN AMERICA: Factors in Climbing Food Prices – A Baker’s Dozen

Where today’s high food prices are concerned, there are 13 villains of the piece: the structural and circumstantial causes associated with supply and demand, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), which says that to tackle them, regional cooperation is essential.

UNITED NATIONS: Africa Keeps Japan Guessing on Security Council Seat

If the Japanese government was expecting assurances from African nations that they would support its bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, they have reason to be disappointed with the outcome of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) last week.

BIODIVERSITY: How a Golden Opportunity Became a Zero-Sum Game

Self-interest and petty politicking largely paralysed efforts to solve the urgent problem of the widespread extinction of species, with few concrete achievements after nearly two weeks of 14-hour meetings at the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Bonn that concluded last Friday.

MEDIA-INDIA: Child Scribes in Villages Raise Development Issues

Children should be seen, not heard - an adage that remains in practice in most parts of rural India even today where the orthodox patriarchal traditions continue to hold sway in tightly-knit local communities.

RIGHTS-INDIA: State-Sponsored Repression, Say Human Rights Activists

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a 32-year-old Indian human- rights group, has decried India’s judiciary for refusing bail to ‘jungle doctor’ and human rights activist Binayak Sen. Sen is widely-respected for his 30 years of healthcare work among tribals in the central Indian State of Chhattisgarh, and has criticised the State for the mass-eviction of thousands of tribal villagers.

Q&A: U.N. Loses Credibility Ignoring Asia’s Ascent

The United Nations and its sister institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are in danger of losing their credibility if they continue to ignore the resurgence of Asia as a potentially dominant power in a new era in global politics.

POLITICS-NICARAGUA: Hard Times for Ortega

Economic problems and persistent poverty, along with his unconditional support of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and expressions of sympathy towards Colombia’s guerrillas, have plunged Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s approval ratings to a new low, analysts say.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Water Studies – But Where Are the Water Supplies?

The road leading to the informal settlement of Korogocho is narrow and winding. Here, in Nairobi's third largest slum, up to 150,000 people are crammed into an area of just over one square kilometre, their shanties made of cardboard, wood or metal.

INDIA: Public Hearings Grant Justice to Rural Women

The Indian state of Rajasthan is historically known for its cultural traditions and the epic tales of valour of its womenfolk are legendary. But sadly, today, this state fails to present a vibrant picture with regard to the status of its women who lead a backward existence.

TRADE: Nigeria ‘‘Threatens’’ Neighbours in Wake of Bilateral EPAs

West African states are working at salvaging regional relations with a renewed attempt to collectively negotiate an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union.

TRADE-WEST AFRICA: Nigeria Is Out to Protect Its Industries

Nigeria took a strong stance on determining its own economic development recently when it rejected an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union. The country has also adopted a different approach towards its neighbours regarding protection for its nascent industries.