ST. LUCIA: New PM Rebuffs Cold War Politics

St. Lucians stuffed their frustrations with the nine-year-old Kenny Anthony government into ballot boxes on Monday, electing an elderly hero of independence who has distanced himself from the United States and vowed to crack down on crime and political corruption.

DEVELOPMENT: ACP Nations Opt for Trade on Their Terms

Leaders of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States wrapped up their fifth summit Friday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum - this after two days of debate over trade relations between the ACP, a 79-member grouping that includes some of the world's poorest nations - and the European Union (EU).

FINANCE: Is the IMF Irredeemably Irrelevant?

Has the International Monetary Fund (IMF) become completely irrelevant? Is this world body, set up more than six decades ago to foster global economic stability and help countries facing financial crises, really reforming itself? And will it become more responsive to the aspirations of developing countries?

DEVELOPMENT: Trade Agreements, Darfur in the Spotlight at ACP Gathering

The fifth summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States is taking place under the theme 'United for Peace, Solidarity and Sustainability'; however, negotiations at the meeting may have a somewhat less harmonious tone.

DEVELOPMENT: ACP States Feeling the Pinch of 2007 Trade Deadline

The fifth summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States will kick off on Thursday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, amidst fierce speculation over the fate of trade agreements between the European Union (EU) and ACP nations.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: China Crouches to Enter Global Arena

If 2006 established China firmly as the world's fourth largest economy, it also delivered Beijing the means to discard the late Deng Xiaoping's maxim that the communist country should not take the lead in international affairs until it has grown economically strong.

POLITICS: Old Trade Beefs to Resurface at ACP Meet

Not many Caribbean leaders are expected to attend the two-day summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group starting in Sudan Thursday, but the region will follow its agenda quite keenly, including a proposed Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union and a new threat to its ailing banana industry.

DEVELOPMENT-CAMEROON: NGOs to the Defence of Local Farmers

Cameroonian civil society groups are expressing concern at the effects of trade liberalisation on the Central African country's food security.

TRADE-INDIA: Wal-Mart Gets a Foot in the Retail Door

A decision by the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA)government, this week, to allow the entry of Wal-Mart Stores into India's closed retail business has come up against opposition from not only the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also its own communist allies.

ASIA: Sino-Indian Ties Stay Hostage to Border Dispute

As the hype over a summit meeting between the world's two most populous nations subsides, analysts here are coming round to the view that the four-day visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India, last week, had more form than substance.

POLITICS-ASIA: China, India Make Progress – No Cost to Pakistan

At the end of an important week-long visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to South Asia, what does the complicated triangular relationship between Beijing, New Delhi and Islamabad, three of Asia's four nuclear powers, look like?

ASIA: Suspicions Bedevil Sino-Indian Relations

Though formally recognising that there is "enough space" for China and India to grow together, the leaders of the world's two most populous nations failed in charting a common trajectory for their rapidly expanding economies.

DEATH PENALTY: WTO Entry – Reprieve for Vietnamese Banker?

Vietnam's recent softening toward economic offences, brought about by its new trade status, could bring relief to traders facing the death penalty for making bad financial transactions.

MEDIA-ASIA: Bush Irrelevance Showing

If the commentaries in East Asian newspapers on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on the weekend are a reflection of the region's mood, then United States President George W. Bush's visit is seen as lacking in relevance.

ECONOMY-VIETNAM: US, China Foster Asia’s Fretful Tiger Cub

As workers roll up the red carpet and the hoopla over the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), hosted by Vietnam on the weekend, reality is dawning on the real significance of this communist country joining the global trading system.

COLOMBIA: Concern Over U.S. Free Trade Deal and Tariff Benefits

Indigenous and black people, trade unionists and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia are preparing to fight the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, which will be signed by the trade ministers of both countries Wednesday in Washington.

POLITICS: Business Lobbies Push Indo-US Nuke Deal

The United States and India have begun new manoeuvres to push through their controversial nuclear cooperation deal after the U.S. Senate, in a special "lame duck" session last week, passed an important bill facilitating it.

ECONOMY-ASIA: China, India See Trade as Fence Mender

Chinese President Hu Jintao's four-day visit to India from Monday, has revived an old debate on whether the planet's two most populous countries could become closer collaborators rather than cut-throat competitors. Can trade and investment help two of the world's fastest growing economies mend relations marred by decades of mistrust and acrimony?

TRADE: Fears Over Asia-Pacific Free Trade Zone

Plans to create the world's largest free trade area at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Vietnam, this weekend, are being viewed with suspicion by activists.

MAURITIUS-ECONOMY: Helping the Sugar Industry Regain its Sweetness

The Mauritian government has embarked on a campaign to transform its sugar industry as international sugar prices plunge, leading to a loss in the country's foreign exchange earnings.

VIETNAM: WTO Brings Challenges and Opportunities

Like many of her compatriots, Pham Thi Viet Nga, chief of the Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Co., expects Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to bring both opportunities and challenges.