LABOUR: Women At the Helm, Literally

Shipping used to be for men. Now women are starting to be seen commanding merchant vessels, oil tankers and cruisers, "manning" ships and operating liner engines.

ARGENTINA: State Subsidises Poorly Functioning Privatised Subway

On weekdays in the Argentine capital, 1.5 million people use the subway, which was the first underground train system in Latin America and the 13th in the world. But while it remains an affordable means of transportation, it is the target of myriad complaints.

ENVIRONMENT: Costa Rica Promotes Greener Air Travel

Costa Rica is hoping for a big jump in its Clean Trips (Viajes Limpios) programme, which allows air passengers to offset the climate-changing gas emissions from their airplane flights by paying for activities that preserve the country's forests.

MEXICO: Cyclists Speed Up Transportation Changes

Cyclists in the Mexican capital who pedal nude once a year and organise tours through the city have overcome the suspicions of city officials and are now participating in designing plans to benefit this environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.

ZIMBABWE: Transport Costs Ground Workers, Employers

Every evening, Barbara Taruvona, the owner of New Styles Hair salon in Harare has to face a queue of her employees at the entrance to her office for their daily cash allowance for transport.

ENVIRONMENT-CHILE: Pedalling Against Pollution

As greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming and fuel prices continue to soar, pedalling has come back in style in many cities of the industrialised world. In Chile, as well, public bicycle services, bike routes and special parking areas are some of the initiatives currently being developed.

AFGHANISTAN: Subsidised Fuel Trail Winds Back to Pakistan

In a teeming petrol market on the outskirts of Kabul, black market traders sell fuel to everyone from individual customers to large business groups. Although much of this petrol comes from Iran or the Central Asian countries, a good amount also hails from Pakistan, where government subsidies have made the fuel much cheaper than in Afghanistan.

PAKISTAN: Tax Payers Pay for Subsidised Fuel to Afghanistan

Petrol pumps in Pakistan’s border regions do brisk business. Jerry cans of fuel are carried both clandestinely and openly across the porous frontier for sale in neighbouring Afghanistan.

ECONOMY-KENYA: Shady Deals and Intrigues Haunt Privatisation

The Kenya Railways Corporation was more than a national utility. It was a repository of Kenya’s history, beginning in the 19th century when indentured Indian labourers were brought to the East African region to build the Kenya-Uganda railway line.

DEVELOPMENT-TOGO: High Cost of Living Exacerbated By Floods

Recent flooding in Togo caused the collapse of over 10 bridges connecting the capital of Lomé to the north of the country. The consequences have been increased transportation costs and a steady climb in the price of consumer products.

VIETNAM: Coping With Skyrocketing Fuel Prices

Nguyen Van Minh has just delivered a consignment of apples from China in his modified Hyundai at Long Bien market where, each night, hundreds of trucks pull up laden with fruits and vegetables from distant provinces and neighbouring countries.

BRAZIL: Controversy Over DWI Law Despite Reduced Deaths

Although Brazil’s tough new drunk driving law has been applauded for cutting traffic deaths in its first month, and is bringing about a change in habits, it continues to face opposition by restaurant and bar owners who will challenge it as unconstitutional in order to get it revoked or at least limit its effects.

SPAIN: Truck Strike Continues, Despite Deal

Although the Spanish government reached an agreement with the main truckers’ unions, around 10 percent of drivers continued blocking roads Thursday on the fourth day of a strike over soaring oil prices.

ENERGY: Indonesia Leaves OPEC, General Motors Downsizes

Indonesia pulled out of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) almost at the same time as U.S. automobile giant General Motors decided to build fewer pickup trucks and make an electric car.

ARGENTINA: Bad Trips for Most, High Speed Trains for the Few

The Argentine government has given the go-ahead for a high-speed electric train which may be the first in Latin America. But experts and, above all, commuters who travel daily on slow, shabby suburban trains are angry, because the multi-million dollar project will only benefit an elite few.

TRANSPORT: Major Hurdle for IBSA Initiative

As the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) met in Cape Town on Monday, to take forward a unique initiative in South-South economic cooperation, a gathering of hard-nosed corporate captains from the three countries discussed the absence of adequate transportation facilities among the ‘IBSA’ members.

HEALTH-TANZANIA: A Hazardous Route to the Cradle

Tatu Shabani Tumbo's first born was diagnosed with strength-sapping anaemia, and died a toddler. Doctors had no medical explanation for the sudden death of her second child at age one. She then tried to get pregnant a third time, initially without success.

INDIA/BANGLADESH: Rail Link Revived After 43 Years

It was a trip down memory lane for old timers who travelled from Dhaka to Kolkata by train on Monday. The last time they could do this was 43 years ago.

RIGHTS: Questions in Portugal About CIA Flights to Guantanamo

Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates and his predecessor José Manuel Barroso should answer "clearly and transparently" questions about secret CIA flights transporting prisoners to Guantánamo, says British lawyer and activist Clive Stafford Smith.

BRAZIL: Amazon Ghost Highway to Be Brought Back to Life

BR-319, a road blazed 35 years ago through the heart of the Amazon jungle and now impassable due to neglect, has sparked a new battle between environmentalists and the Brazilian authorities, who have decided to rebuild it.

HEALTH-VIETNAM: Helmet Rule Saving Lives in Motorcycle Country

Three months after Vietnam made the wearing of helmets mandatory for all motorcycle riders, doctors and activists say the law is proving to be a lifesaver in a country where two-wheelers are an important means of transport.