UKRAINE: Election Set to Bring Another Crisis

The political crisis that has ravaged Ukraine since President Viktor Yushchenko decided to dissolve parliament is not likely to end with the early elections scheduled for Sep. 30.

ENVIRONMENT-MALAYSIA: Water a Sacred Gift Affirm Interfaith Leaders

When religious leaders from different faiths sought to jointly affirm the sacredness of water as the source of life but were shooed away by authorities, it was seen as a move to scuttle interfaith harmony as well as support plans to privatise a common resource.

EGYPT: Opposition Protests Plans for Bank Sell-Off

Earlier this month, the government announced its intention to sell a majority stake of Banque du Caire (BDC), Egypt's third largest state-owned bank, to a strategic investor. But the planned sell-off, which comes as part of the technocratic government's much-vaunted privatisation programme, has come under heavy criticism by the political opposition.

AFRICA: Food for 12 Billion. So Why Did 854 Million Go Without?

"As you are suffering from over-consumption, I am suffering from under-consumption. We need to strike a balance," said Mary Wahu Kaara from the Kenya Debt Relief Network with reference to the North and the South.

BOLIVIA: Will Nationalisation Scare Off Foreign Investment?

Foreign investment in Bolivia fell to 237 million dollars in 2006 as part of a continued tendency that is jeopardising economic growth, warn some analysts, who blame the phenomenon on the government's strategy of placing firms that were privatised in the 1990s back in state hands.

ARGENTINA: Privatised Railways – a Timebomb

A riot by commuters enraged over delays, who destroyed part of the busiest train station in Buenos Aires, has drawn attention to the profound crisis afflicting Argentina's privatised railways, which have severe shortcomings despite the huge subsidies they receive from the state.

ECONOMY-VENEZUELA: Nationalisation Drive Takes Broad Aim

Venezuela's nationalisation drive is moving full-steam ahead. After placing telecoms, electricity and oil companies in state hands, President Hugo Chávez has warned that he is prepared to nationalise everything from banks to the largest steel company, and even health clinics and chicken farms.

PARAGUAY: Aquifer Wounded and Contaminated

Josefina Samaniego didn't know that water could have taste and colour until she moved to the city of Limpio, about 10 kilometres from the Paraguayan capital. The liquid from the wells in this community of 73,000 people is not odourless, colourless or tasteless as most expect water to be.

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Neglecting Ancient Reservoirs Carries a Price

The carved granite pagodas that dominate this town in southern Tamil Nadu state have earned it a place on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites. Less noticeable, though, are the vast reservoirs that once took care of the water requirements of this millennia-old cultural centre.

DEVELOPMENT-U.S.: Nestle Bottling Operations Court Controversy

As Nestlé shareholders gathered Thursday in Switzerland for their annual meeting, growing numbers of voices question the company's claims on spring water around the world and its effects on local communities.

HEALTH-MALAYSIA: Privatisation of Health Care Feared

Civil society activists worry that a plan to fund health care in Malaysia through private initiatives is about to be put into place and in such a way that the poor will end up being disproportionately burdened.

BOLIVIA: Errors in Contracts Complicate Gas Nationalisation

In the face of gas shortages, Bolivians are criticising the way the nationalisation of the country's energy reserves is being carried out, and social activists have once again begun to demand the outright confiscation of the assets of the 12 foreign oil companies operating here.

TRADE-KENYA: East Africans May Be Stripped of the Kikoi

Kenyan activists are fighting to retain cultural designs that have been developed in East Africa but are being patented by companies in rich countries. After losing the kiondo basket trademark to Japan, the popular kikoi fabric design is currently at risk of being patented by a British company.

DEVELOPMENT: Campaigners Counter Privatisation Source

Anti-poverty campaigners are calling on the European Union's developing aid chief not to renew the contract of an industrialist advising him on the role of the private sector in Africa.

ECUADOR: Pressure to Make Water a Public Good

World Water Day will be marked Thursday in Ecuador by protests against the privatisation of water, the construction of dams, and the mining industry, and by demands for the new constitution to recognise access to water as a basic human right.

Q&A: “We Want to Take Control of Our Water”

In a State of the Nation address delivered in February, South African President Thabo Mbeki said his country had "already achieved the Millennium Development Goals in respect of basic water supply, with improvement of access from 59 percent in 1994 to 83 percent in 2006."

MALAYSIA: State to Run City Buses as Privatisation Fails

A state-owned bus company is set to take over public transport in this traffic-clogged northern state after a concerted civil society campaign highlighted the failure of the existing privatised, deregulated bus service.

DEVELOPMENT: ‘MDG Scan’ to Benchmark Private Contribution

Does the presence of Heineken beer in Sierra Leone contribute to reduction of child mortality? And to what extent does the chemicals company Akzo Nobel contribute to prevent environmental damage?

INDIA: Special Economic Zones on the Backburner

Faced with energetic and widespread popular protests against special economic zones, India has decided to go slow on this particular model of industrialisation based on creating export-oriented tax-free enclaves.

NEPAL: ‘Privatisation’ Violates Right to Health – Activists

Hiring a private firm to manage the drinking water system in Nepal's capital violates the right to health guarantee in the country's interim constitution, activists are set to argue before the Supreme Court.

ROMANIA: How Bleak Is My Valley

Petrosani, a town of about 50,000, presents a stark picture today of what the abrupt replacement of state socialism by unbridled capitalism can do.