Full Coverage: Development

30.06.2004 BUENOS AIRES- The privatisation of Argentina's railways was a slick business deal in the 1990s for the companies that began to run the train service with subsidies from the state.

29.06.2004 WASHINGTON, Jun 28 (IPS) - Billions of dollars of Iraqi oil money have gone unaccounted for by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), according to a new report released Monday.

28.06.2004 Representatives from communities around the world will attend Shell's AGM on Monday (28 June) [1] to demand justice from the oil company, which they say is causing severe health problems and environmental damage from Nigeria to Texas, from Sakhalin to South Africa. Their stories, published in an alternative report by Friends of the Earth [2] conflict with the social and environmental claims made by the company in its reports to shareholders.

25.06.2004 New research from the LSE's Crisis States Programme shows how developed country governments are using their dominance of the WTO and international trade negotiations to force open markets and secure profits for international companies, while avoiding commitments to improve market access for developing countries.

25.06.2004 An Indian NGO working as an information centre on contemporary social issues is looking for volunteers with a range of skill sets and interest in development issues.

25.06.2004 The National Institute of Smart Government (NISG) is organising a workshop, on July 8-9, 2004, at Hyderabad, India, to bring together all the stakeholders in the ICT for Development (ICTD) project.

24.06.2004 Join Amnesty International UK, Oxfam Great Britain and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) in fighting the arms trade.

24.06.2004 In an address to The World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999, United Nation Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged business leaders to join an international initiative – the Global Compact – that would bring companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society to support nine principles in the areas of human rights, labour and the environment. The Global Compact’s operational phase was launched at UN Headquarters in New York on 26 July 2000.

22.06.2004 Excessive centralization of power and the lack of adequate accountability and transparency are being blamed for the poor development record of Bangladesh.

22.06.2004 Protests against Pakistan's acquisition of vast tracts of land for mega military projects in its western Balochistan province are snowballing, with armed tribesmen blowing up an airport in the gas-rich region of Sui last week, and local nationalist parties threatening political action on August 1.

22.06.2004 The crucial role that fishing harbours play in planned fisheries development will be explored in a national workshop being organized on June 24 and 25, 2004, in Kochi, India.

21.06.2004 On June 8th, Guatemala was paralyzed by a nationwide strike in protest of the recent increase in land evictions of predominantly indigenous families, as well as a regressive tax proposal and the newly signed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
By: Guatemala Human Rights Commission

18.06.2004 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The first-ever set of standards certifying land use projects that reduce global warming while conserving the environment and alleviating poverty will be opened up for global peer review and comment next week by the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance.

18.06.2004 The partnerships fashioned and synergies drawn on in the next year would play a critical role in meeting the MDGs by the 2015 deadline, says the UNDP.

18.06.2004 ODI and DFID have announced a partnership to bridge international development research and policy. In a long-term effort to help think-tanks and NGOs contribute more effectively to policy in such areas as aid, trade and poverty reduction, they will sponsor research, build capacity, and help Southern civil society target key decisions for improved policy impact.

17.06.2004 CEPS hosted a presentation of the World Bank’s Economic Memorandum on Kosovo. This report delivers an assessment of Kosovo’s economic performance by identifying its strengths and opportunities as well as the prevailing impediments to growth, and formulates policy recommendations on that basis. The topic was introduced by the World Bank’s Country Director for Kosovo, Orsalia Kalatzopoulos, and presented by Satu Kristiina Kahkonen, a Lead Economist at the World Bank.

17.06.2004 Defense spending across the world, including cash-strapped developing countries, has spiraled, touching over US $1000 billion in 2003 - a level last seen during the Cold War, says a new report.

17.06.2004 SAO PAULO, Jun 16 (IPS) - The international community, which four years ago approved a set of key development goals on poverty, hunger, health, education and environment, set deadlines for the poor but not for the rich, says a senior United Nations official.

15.06.2004 How has the PPP actually evolved over the past three years? What impact has the opposition among civil society groups throughout Mesoamerica had? Can the relaunch, replete with a new designer image created with the help of marketing experts, really revive the Plan? What lessons have grassroots movements learned from the PPP?

15.06.2004 Em seu discurso na abertura da XI Sessão da UNCTAD (Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre o Comércio e o Desenvolvimento), o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva citou, como exemplo de iniciativa internacional de combate à fome, o fundo criado por Brasil, África do Sul e Índia, administrado pelo PNUD. Ele classificou a iniciativa de “pioneira” e disse propôs que ela seja discutida na próxima Assembléia das Nações Unidas, em setembro.