TRADE: International Order Is at Stake, G20 Warns

Immediate resumption of the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on the basis of the original pro-development aim, with agriculture at the top of the agenda, were the demands of developing countries meeting Saturday on an initiative by the Group of 20 (G20).

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: “Extreme” TB Bug Prompts Calls for Rapid Action

For the region in the world worst-affected by AIDS it is, to say the least, an unwelcome development: an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa's south-eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, caused by a strain of the disease that resists almost all forms of treatment.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: What They’ll Talk About in 2007

With dozens, if not hundreds of organisations likely to attend next year's World Social Forum (WSF) - and almost as many issues clamouring to be addressed there - nailing down a programme for the Jan. 20-25 event promises to be a daunting task.

DEVELOPMENT: From “Survival or a Better Life”, to Survival and a Better Life

At the recent meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) held in Cape Town, South Africa, the key word was "partnership".

SCIENCE: Excellence and Cooperation in the Developing South

High-quality scientific research is also carried out in the developing South, especially in response to problems specific to the Third World, and in a spirit of cooperation - all of which will be on display as of Saturday at a paradisiacal Brazilian beach resort.

TRANSPORT-SOUTH AFRICA: The Colour of 2010 Is Green

Take to the roads in South Africa, and chances are you'll be confronted with an obstacle course that includes mind-numbing congestion, close shaves with speeding drivers, and the fog of exhaust fumes.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Obama to the Rescue?

"Obama must come now; we need help," 75-year-old William Onyango told IPS about four months ago*, at his store in a remote, western village of Kenya. While the senator from the U.S. state of Illinois may not have arrived as quickly as Onyango was hoping, he is in Kenya now as part of an official tour that also encompasses South Africa, Djibouti and Chad.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: More Women, Please

The annual summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) wrapped up Friday with a call to speed up the process of increasing women's representation at all levels of government in the 14-nation body.

POLITICS: “We Want to Show All Is Not Well in Zimbabwe” – SADC Protestors

As the annual summit of the Southern African Development Community got underway Thursday, Zimbabwean activist Bishop Shumba was on hand in Lesotho's capital - Maseru - to remind regional leaders about the political and economic difficulties in his country.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Two Days, And Lots of Problems

A call has been made for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to involve civil society in its decision-making process - in deed, as well as in word. This comes ahead of the annual SADC summit for heads of state and government that gets underway Thursday in Lesotho's capital, Maseru.

TRADE: India, Brazil, S. Africa Ties to Soar on Aerospace

An ambitious attempt to revive South-South economic cooperation around India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) is expected to receive a major fillip when the heads of state of these developing country majors meet in Brazil during the second week of September.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Expropriations Loom in Land Reform

If a remark made by South Africa's land affairs minister is to be taken at face value, the country could start expropriating white-owned farms by early next year.

MEDIA-AFRICA: “Threatened From Everywhere”

Concerns about restrictions on press freedom in Africa have surfaced again, this during a two-day conference held in Kenya that attracted over 100 media representatives from across the continent.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: It’s “Wait and See” for Zuma’s Corruption Trial

While the first half of 2006 in South Africa was dominated by the proceedings of former deputy president Jacob Zuma's trial on rape charges, the second looks set to be punctuated by his corruption trial. But, only if the court case goes ahead, of course.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: When Putting AIDS in the Crosshairs, Set Targets

Civil society organisations in South Africa are preparing to push government to meet its commitment for setting national targets on HIV/AIDS, made at the recent United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS).

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: To End Hunger – More Aid, Quicker Aid, Smarter Aid

Global aid agency Oxfam has called for a thorough review of efforts to end hunger in Africa, arguing that emergency assistance is often inadequate and arrives too late - while the underlying causes of hunger are going largely unaddressed.

IRAQ: A Story Left Incomplete

Alaa Hassan never did live to see publication of the last story he had filed. It got caught for a while, as stories sometimes are, in that no man's land between what a correspondent could reasonably get, and what an editor would really like.

DEVELOPMENT: Aid for the Poor, Not for the Consultants

No less than a quarter of annual development aid - about 20 billion dollars - is being used by donor countries to fund technical assistance of sometimes dubious worth, says ActionAid International in a new report.

IRAQ: A Story IPS Never Wanted to Tell

IPS contributor Alaa Hassan was killed on his way to work last Wednesday. He was 35 years old. He is survived by his mother, five brothers, five sisters and his wife who is pregnant with their first child.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: The Mediation That Never Was

While U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's stillborn effort to mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis may have made headlines this week, it came as no surprise to political observer Brian Raftopoulos.

RIGHTS: An Empty Stomach? Tell It to the UN!

Citizens may soon be able to complain to the United Nations when their governments are not treating them well - if these administrations have agreed to a host of new economic, social and cultural rights, that is.