Archives
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010

December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009

December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008

December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007

December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006

December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005

December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004

December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003

December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002

December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001

December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000

December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
September 1999
August 1999
June 1999
May 1999
April 1999

April 1998

News archives

Monday, April 28, 2008

Protected Land Goes Back to Work as Crop Prices Soar
Since the mid-1980s, the U.S. government, trying to reduce the environmental fallout from large-scale farming, has been paying farmers to set aside substandard land for conservation. The results have been overwhelmingly positive: Soil erosion has been reduced, chemical and fertilizer runoff has ease... Continued...

The global food system feeds gluttonous corporations first
The only surprising thing about the global food crisis to Jim Goodman is the notion that anyone finds it surprising. "So," says the Wisconsin dairy farmer, "they finally figured out, after all these years of pushing globalization and genetically modified seeds, that instead of feeding the world ... Continued...

Rise of Nationalism Frays Global Ties
The world isn't as flat as it used to be. During the long march toward globalization, international borders and trade barriers came down. Communism fell. Protectionist walls in Latin America and elsewhere were dismantled. Governments -- long prone to meddling in trade -- took a back seat to broad... Continued...

Draining the basin that's Mexico City: A $1.3-billion government effort aims to clear the problems
The metropolis, situated in a giant natural bowl, suffers flooding and backup with every rainy season. A $1.3-billion government effort aims to clear the problems. MEXICO CITY -- The enormous expanse of concrete and asphalt known as Mexico City was once a lake. And each year, starting about this ... Continued...

Making a killing from the food crisis
A new report by GRAIN - The world food crisis is hurting a lot of people, but global agribusiness firms, traders and speculators are raking in huge profits. Much of the news coverage of the world food crisis has focussed on riots in low-income countries, where workers and others cannot cope w... Continued...

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Canada, don't take fresh water for granted
Special Update Water is something Canadians and Americans take very much for granted, particularly people in the vicinity of the Great Lakes, where water's abundance has long been the foundation of agriculture, industry, trade and economic development. Around the world, water matters powerfully, ... Continued...

India on brink of water crisis, says climate panel
NEW DELHI: The per capita water availability in India is projected to decline to about 1,140 cubic metres per year in 2050 from 1,820 cubic metres per year recorded in 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated in a report released recently. While the figures are not n... Continued...

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Biofuels In China: Ethanol Market Expected To Double
The Chinese government views biofuels as a key component of an overall strategy for a stable and secure economy. Increased biofuel production is also seen as a means of mitigating poverty conditions in rural areas, where per capita income is about one-third of that in urban centers. For all those re... Continued...

Thursday, April 24, 2008

EU and U.S. Failing Poor Farmers, Says ActionAid
ActionAid has hit out at resistance by the EU and the US to demands by G77 for a stronger role for UNCTAD to regulate trade in agriculture commodities. The EU and US are also accused of starving UNCTAD of resources and limiting its mandate. The EU and US are pushing this responsibility to nationa... Continued...

Crude prices reflective of speculation, not Chinese demand - Saudi Aramco
HIGHLIGHT: Major oil producer Saudi Aramco has stated that international crude oil prices are increasing primarily due to speculation and depreciation of the US dollar and not due to increased demand from China, reported Reuters, quoting the Saudi Arabian company's executive. The Saudi Aram... Continued...

Town in the Andes face crisis as glaciers melt
El Alto, Bolivia - An abandoned alpine lodge is all that remains of Bolivia's renowned Chacaltaya ski resort, the world's highest at 17,388 feet above sea level. Today, the expansive 150-foot thick glacier, which once attracted thousands of tourists, has been reduced to a lone patch of ice about 9-f... Continued...

Builders urged to give Great Lakes some space: Environmentalists cheer Ontario's support for varying water levels
People are building homes and cottages too close to Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes, environmentalists say. The comments came yesterday after the province endorsed a control plan for Lake Ontario that would let water levels fluctuate more than they do now, in a way that mimics nature. I... Continued...

UNCTAD asked to play leading role in pricing of commodities
Panelists at a roundtable at the on-going 12th UNCTAD Conference in Accra have came up with common views on the changing face of commodities especially rising prices. The panellists who were made up of delegates from Ghana, Angola, Argentina, Mauritania, Uganda and Sri Lanka agreed that the current... Continued...

UNCTAD Hears Gender Inequality Becoming Worse - and Better
The only way that the poor, particularly women, will benefit from all the efforts that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has put into improving global trade is to ensure that power inequalities are redressed. This is the comment of Esther Busser, trade policy advisor... Continued...

Instead of biofuel, other global trends starve Haiti
When deadly food riots erupted in Haiti this month, experts were quick to blame the United States' policy of harvesting grains to make biofuels. Using food crops to satisfy the needs of wealthy, gas-guzzling consumers ahead of the starving poor was "a crime against humanity," according to one Un... Continued...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Trade Policies Need to Incorporate a 'Gender Lens'
Increasing capacity among policy makers to ensure they apply a 'gender lens' at all levels of trade policy formulation, implementation and negotiation was one of the key recommendations which emerged from an event organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with the United Nations Co... Continued...

UNCTAD boss demand that government do more for women
The Secretary-General of UNCTAD Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi has asked governments to do more for women and not just pay lip service to gender issues. He asked governments, civil society and policy makers to raise the awareness of and find empirical evidence to issues of gender to enable interest grou... Continued...

UN Task Force to tackle food crisis Ban Ki-Moon accepts Dhaka's proposal
Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon has accepted the Bangladesh proposal for setting up a task force on food crisis. Foreign Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury during the current UNCTAD XII in the Ghanaian capital proposed that the UN Secretary General may set up a task force t... Continued...

UNCTAD Official Blames Food Crisis On Structural Adjustment Programme
The Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, embarked upon by most African countries in the 1980s, including Nigeria, has been blamed by an official of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Mr. Rolf Traeger, as one of the major reasons for the current food crisis plaguing some countri... Continued...

Cuba Defends Role of UNCTAD
Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas said on Tuesday that the Group of the 77 or G-77 has to show its political will to preserve the historic role of the UN agency on Trade and Development in the organization of international economic relations. According to Granma news daily, Cabrisas is p... Continued...

Views Clash At Unctad Over What's Best for Africa
"Africa is not a basket case. The continent is just suffering from the effects of events that it has no hand in and cannot control." These are the remarks of Ekplom Afeke, a Togolese activist who is attending the 12th meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) cur... Continued...

Civil Society Groups Call for Establishment of Commission On Globalisation
Civil society groups have called for the establishment of a new Commission on Globalisation and Development Strategies within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In a declaration presented at the opening plenary of the Committee of the Whole, Civil Society groups also... Continued...

Turkey's Government Plans Sweeping Water Privatisation in Run-up to World Water Forum in Istanbul
In March 2009 the Turkish government will host the fifth World Water Forum against a backdrop of what is probably the most sweeping water privatisation programme in the world. As well as privatizing water services, the government plans to sell of rivers and lakes. Turkish social movements, who hoste... Continued...

UNCTAD Official Blames Food Crisis On Structural Adjustment Programme
The Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, embarked upon by most African countries in the 1980s, including Nigeria, has been blamed by an official of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Mr. Rolf Traeger, as one of the major reasons for the current food crisis plaguing some countri... Continued...

Trade Policies Need to Incorporate a 'Gender Lens'
Increasing capacity among policy makers to ensure they apply a 'gender lens' at all levels of trade policy formulation, implementation and negotiation was one of the key recommendations which emerged from an event organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, in collaboration with the United Nations Co... Continued...

Views Clash At Unctad Over What's Best for Africa
"Africa is not a basket case. The continent is just suffering from the effects of events that it has no hand in and cannot control." These are the remarks of Ekplom Afeke, a Togolese activist who is attending the 12th meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) curr... Continued...

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Food price crisis tops agenda at UN trade conference
BEIJING, -- The issue of feeding the world's population at a time when there has been a surge in global food prices is top on the agenda of the ongoing 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Concerns are mounting over soaring food prices worldwide, which ... Continued...

UNCTAD Launches Second Phase of Biotrade Facilitation Programme
UNCTAD launched the second phase of the BioTrade Facilitation Programme (BTFP II), which helps developing countries benefit from the sustainable use of their biodiversity, during the twelfth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in Accra, Ghana from 20 to 25 April 2... Continued...

UNCTAD, OECD sign accord to promote entrepreneurship
An agreement has been signed in Accra to promote entrepren eurship through the establishment of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organisa tion for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)... Continued...

Bush rejects renegotiating North American trade deal
US President George W. Bush defended the North American Free Trade Agreement on Tuesday, saying "now is not the time to renegotiate NAFTA or walk away from NAFTA." "Now is the time to make it work better," Bush told a news conference during a summit here with the leaders of NAFTA partners Mexico ... Continued...

Canadian, U.S., Mexican Labour Organizations Charge North Carolina with Violating NAFTA Labour Standards
The 340,000-member National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), along with more than 40 other labour organizations in Canada, the United States and Mexico, will tomorrow file a charge against the United States under the North American Agreement for Labour Cooperation (NAALC), the labour s... Continued...

Earth Day: Time to turn up heat on politicians
dsEarth Day has come again. And again, people are reflecting on the tremendous pressures we put on the earth and the environment and what they can do to live a greener more sustainable life. Perhaps this year, we should also reflect on Canada's stubborn insistence on being a part of the climate c... Continued...

NAFTA expert says oilsands firms unlikely to take on Alberta goverment
EDMONTON - Alberta has nothing to fear from oilsands companies demanding compensation under the North American Free Trade Agreement should the province be forced to ration water during a drought, says a NAFTA expert. Todd Grierson-Weiler, a lawyer who has been handling NAFTA cases for the past de... Continued...

Carbon limits hike costs for oilsands; Up to $13 a barrel. Consumers probably will foot the bill
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and the rest of the oil industry might face higher costs to exploit Canada's tar sands, the biggest deposit outside of Saudi Arabia, because of efforts to rein in climate change. A Canadian mandate to bury carbon dioxide emitted during the process of... Continued...

In campaign, N-a-f-t-a really spells 'Mexico'
Hillary Clinton promises to start renegotiating Nafta in her first 100 days as president. Barack Obama would use the threat of opting out as a ''hammer'' to demand strong labor and environmental standards in Mexico. In the United States primary elections, the Democratic candidates have heaped bla... Continued...

United Nations: Current 'Development Emergency' Requires Unprecedented Scaling Up Of Activities
Following is the text of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's opening statement to the high-level segment of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) XII, today, 21 April, in Accra, Ghana: It is a great pleasure to join all of you in opening this high-level segment of UNCTAD... Continued...

Five reasons why WTO is failing all farmers
FIVE main reasons why the WTO has "fundamentally failed" world farmers in both rich and poor countries, since its inception 12 years ago, have been set out by Malcolm Thompson, ICSA president. These are: CORPORATE AGRICULTURE The WTO system favours corporate agriculture over individual fami... Continued...

Food price crisis tops agenda at UN trade conference
The issue of feeding the world's population at a time when there has been a surge in global food prices is top on the agenda of the ongoing 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Concerns are mounting over soaring food prices worldwide, which have ev... Continued...

Monday, April 21, 2008

High prices give chance to cut farm subsidies - Ban
High commodity prices create an opportunity for developed nations to scrap agricultural subsidies that distort trade and worsen poverty in the world, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday. Ban urged rich and poor states attending a U.N. conference on trade and development in... Continued...

UN chief doubts Africa will meet 2015 development goals
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon cast doubt Monday on whether sub-Sahara Africa will meet a 2015 deadline for eradicating extreme poverty, despite an economic boom linked to higher commodity prices. "Many countries are falling behind," Ban told the ongoing UN Conference on Trade and Development (... Continued...

US safety inspector to start role in China
Simply sending inspectors to China and other countries will not be enough to make sure food and drugs are safe and independent certification may be the best solution, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said on Monday. He said Christopher Hickey, the U.S. agency's Asia and Pa... Continued...

Peak Water: Aquifers and Rivers Are Running Dry. How Three Regions Are Coping.
That the news is familiar makes it no less alarming: 1.1 billion people, about one-sixth of the world's population, lack access to safe drinking water. Aquifers under Beijing, Delhi, Bangkok, and dozens of other rapidly growing urban areas are drying up. The rivers Ganges, Jordan, Nile, and Yangtze ... Continued...

UN chief urges implementation of UNCTAD agreements
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for the agreement reached at the 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to be translated into actions. A large number of agreements have been reached on core issues, Ban said in his statement to the ongoing U... Continued...

UNCTAD Secretary-General Calls for Accra Accord to Help Make Globalization Deliver for the World's Poorest
Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi urged UNCTAD XII to reach an agreement this week that sends a signal of the international community’s renewed resolve to make globalization deliver for the world’s poorest. Addressing the opening plenary of twelfth ministerial meeting of the United Nations ... Continued...

Ghana: Privatization of Water, Health Renders Mdgs Unattainable, Says Civil Society
Civil Society groups participating in the ongoing UNCTAD XII conference in Accra have kicked against the privatization of water and health services. In their view privatizing water and health will make the attainment of the much-touted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by developing countries a... Continued...

Canadians Detained At U.S. Border Will Be Ordered To Provide DNA Samples
VANCOUVER -Canadians suspected of offences at the U.S. border will be ordered to provide DNA samples starting later this year. The new U.S. policy will require that DNA swab samples be taken from anyone arrested in the United States and from foreigners detained at the border who are not legal U.S. r... Continued...

Drought-hit Cyprus signs deal to ferry water from Greece
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus, facing its worst drought in a decade, will start importing water from Greece within the next two months, Agriculture Minister Michalis Polinikis said on Monday. Reservoirs are dangerously low and the crisis has forced emergency water rationing and sped up plans by Cypr... Continued...

Signed, sealed, delivered
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - In March 2008, the U.S. Department of State issued a federal permit for the 2,000-mile TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, which would carry heavy crude oil from the oil sands of northern Alberta across seven U.S. states to Oklahoma. The document was signed, even though mandated gov... Continued...

UNCTAD Meeting to Address Growth in Emerging Powers
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting currently underway in Accra, Ghana, takes place amid rising global fears that global financial turmoil and economic slowdown in the developed countries would affect economic growth in the developing world. The meeting, which ... Continued...

Ban Ki-Moon, Others in Accra
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon among other international leaders including Heads of State have arrived in Ghana's capital Accra to grace the12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which is underway at the Accra International Conference Centre. Some 4,000 representat... Continued...

UNCTAD XII to identify solutions for global problems
The 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development /UNCTAD XII/ will identify the basic activities for the next four years. The event will be running in Geneva through April 25, BelTA learnt in the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. On April 21, representatives of business circ... Continued...

More delegates arrive for UNCTAD conference
As the 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) enters its second day, more personalities are touching down to participate. Her Royal Highness, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, arrived in the country this morning with a host of dignitaries. The conference ... Continued...

Global food crisis tops agenda of Unctad
Climate change and the global food crisis headed the topics for discussion at the United Nations conference on trade and development here in Ghana as they would significantly affect development and especially hurt the poor. Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, who joined the event chaired by Rajen... Continued...

Growth depends on optimistic relations between trade & employment
As trade ministers and Heads of State come together in Accra, Ghana to decide on the priorities for the UN’s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the next four years, trade unionists are calling for the UNCTAD XII Conference to endorse a strong UNCTAD agency as the main forum where discu... Continued...

Food tops agenda at UN trade conference in Ghana
A warning from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the possible consequences of the rise in global food prices, together with the plight of the world's poorest nations, dominated the start of a major UN trade conference Sunday in Ghana's capital. "If not handled properly, this (food) crisis could... Continued...

Thai model presented in UNCTAD
The United Nations began Monday its 12th conference on trade and development in Ghana to address the opportunities and challenges of globalization for developing countries. Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama led Thai delegation to present Thai model of development, notably His Majesty the king's ... Continued...

UN chief warns world must urgently increase food production
The U.N. chief warned Sunday that the world must urgently increase food production to ease skyrocketing prices and pledged to set up a task force on a crisis threatening to destabilize developing nations. The cost of food has increased by around 40 percent since mid-2007 worldwide, and the strain... Continued...

Food crisis threatens security, says UN chief
The UN secretary general issued a gloomy warning yesterday that the deepening global food crisis, in which rapidly rising prices have triggered riots and threatened hunger in dozens of countries, could have grave implications for international security, economic growth and social progress. Ban Ki... Continued...

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Secretary-General Ban warns against impulses towards protectionism
The forces of trade and globalization that have driven a “virtuous cycle” of economic prosperity around the world in the last two decades must be allowed to continue or the current crisis in poor countries over soaring food prices will only worsen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a major gatherin... Continued...

UNCTAD opens with calls for tackling of trade challenges
The 12th meeting of the UNCTAD opened in Accra on Sunday with calls for new ideas for tackling the marginalisation of Africa. Ghana's President John Kufuor said UNCTAD should come out with fresh ideas to influence development policy thinking within the global community to end the marginalisation ... Continued...

Food price rises may hit growth, says Ban Ki-moon
Higher food prices risk wiping out progress towards reducing poverty and, if allowed to escalate, could hurt global growth and security, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday. Opening a U.N. trade and development conference in Ghana, Ban pledged to use the full force of the ... Continued...

UN's Ban Will Form `High-Powered' Task Force on Food
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he will form a task force to address the global food shortages and rising prices that have sparked riots in poor nations. The group will be ``high-powered'' and include ``eminent experts and leading policy authorities,'' Ban said in a speech at t... Continued...

Global food crisis increases instability in world�fs poorest countries
The current global food crisis will impact most in the world�fs poorest countries civil society leaders said in Accra today. �gIncreases in global food prices are hitting people hard in the Least Developed Countries�h Demba Moussa Dembele, Board member of LDC Watch told a meeting organised by LDC Wa... Continued...

12th Unctad begins today in Africa
São Paulo – The 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad 12) kicks off (20th) in Accra, capital of Ghana, in Africa. Leaders of the 193 member states at the organisation will have a series of hot subjects to discuss until the 25th. This is so because the event takes place at a... Continued...

China food safety law to allow for life in jail
China unveiled a new draft food safety law on Sunday that provides for penalties of up to life imprisonment for people responsible for the production of substandard food. The National People's Congress, or parliament, is seeking public comments on the draft until May 20, the official Xinhua news ... Continued...

Rain doesn't halt BP protest
Mother Earth was feeling a little crabby on Saturday's Earth Day activities in Whiting. Rain pounded the area all day, but subsided long enough for the group of area residents and environmentalists to hold an outdoors rally at Whiting's Whihala County Park. The group was protesting the $3.8 bil... Continued...

Exposed: the great GM crops myth
Major new study shows that modified soya produces 10 per cent less food than its conventional equivalent Genetic modification actually cuts the productivity of crops, an authoritative new study shows, undermining repeated claims that a switch to the controversial technology is needed to solve ... Continued...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

China's Growing Thirst for Milk Hits Global Market
"I have a dream," Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China once said. But his dream wasn't about civil rights for all or racial harmony. It was about a future where every Chinese child would have enough milk to drink — a half-liter a day for each child, to be exact. Wen's vision has given rise to a gi... Continued...

Thailand Offers Sufficiency Economy at UNCTAD
Thailand will emphasise the principles of the sufficiency economy philosophy, initiated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, at the 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ''UNCTAD XII'' at Accra, Ghana, opening Sunday and ending Friday ''April 25'', according to Thai Minister of ... Continued...

UNCTAD seeks to make developing countries benefit from globalization
Limiting the impact of a potential global slowdown and ensuring that the benefits of globalization reach all the world's developing countries and poorest populations are among the objectives of the 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII) to be held in Accr... Continued...

UNCTAD boss warns against use food crops for bio-fuels
Accra, Ghana - UNCTAD Secretary-General, Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, on Sat urday warned against the use of food crops for extraction of bio-fuels, saying the move could undermine food supply and put populations in grave danger. The Ghana News Agency quoted him as urging the International Monetary ... Continued...

PYAASA GUJARAT: Gujarat’s lifeline makes their farmland saline
Leelapur(Surendranagar): The Narmada canal has turned many arid regions in Gujarat lush green. But in Leelapur, villagers have accused the canal of rendering 250 acres of agricultural land unusable. The village’s black clay soil, ideal for growing cotton, has started developing a white coating. ... Continued...

Friday, April 18, 2008

New Environics poll reveals Canadians reject SPP priorities
As Stephen Harper prepares to attend the North American leaders' summit on the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in New Orleans next week, a new Environics Research poll shows that Canadians disagree with key elements of North American integration. The survey commissioned by the Council of... Continued...

Can High Agriculture Prices Spur Development?
UNCTAD Meeting an Opportunity to Address Agriculture Markets, New Report Minneapolis/Accra � Trade ministers gathering in Accra, Ghana for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) should take steps to support agriculture and manage supplies to address price volatility, ac... Continued...

Thursday, April 17, 2008

UNCTAD XII will provide solutions to global challenges- Chutikul
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) XII Session in Accra would not only offer hope to development, but also propose solutions to, among other things, the global financial turbulence, an official of UNCTAD said. Mr. Kobsak Chutikul, Special Advisor to the Secretary-Gene... Continued...

African Leaders Urged To Take Full Advantage Of UNCTAD
Mr K. B. Asante, a retired diplomat and renowned columnist, yesterday called on African leaders to attend the forthcoming meeting of the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII) in Accra with a mindset that UNCTAD is for trade and not aid as a means for development. He not... Continued...

UNCTAD comes to Ghana
The 12th meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD XII is scheduled to take place in Ghana from 20th to 25th April 2008. The conference under the theme” Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges of Globalization for Development” will be attended by about 4,500 re... Continued...

Debt
The main issue for developing countries arising from the current American credit crisis is the extent to which they are decoupled and protected from it. The global economic situation is fragile, especially if the financial sector losses of US and European corporations start to spread across the glob... Continued...

South-South Trade
Twin brothers Hassan and Hussein harvest cocoa bean pods in Sinikosson, Ivory Coast, for the lucrative multibillion dollar chocolate trade but remain mired in poverty. Their story is repeated manifold among other workers in Africa and elsewhere, including women and children. But new hope is risin... Continued...

UNCTAD XII: Challenges and Opportunities: Meeting Basic Needs For All
The UN Conference on Trade and Development is holding its 12th conference in Accra, Ghana, from April 20 to April 25 2008. Below is the message sent to the conference on behalf of the Office to the UN, Geneva, of the Association of World Citizens. 2008 is the 60th anniversary of the UN General As... Continued...

EPA BOOSTS OIL REFINERY ENFORCEMENT AMID TAR SANDS EXPANSIONS
EPA is ramping up its enforcement activity in the refining sector, including a focus on refinery expansions to allow the facilities to process Canadian extra heavy crude from the Alberta tar sands -- a fuel source that environmentalists fear may result in significant emissions increases over convent... Continued...

Investors target oilsands strategies; 'Harsh Impacts'
As oil prices climbed to a new record yesterday, nearing $115US a barrel, international investors were targeting the annual shareholders' meetings of such companies as BP PLC, Linking BP PLC,News, and Chevron Corp. to convey their "disappointment" with their Canadian oilsands strategies because of... Continued...

Bangladesh To Push For U.N. Program On Global Food Security
Bangladesh will push for a special U.N. program on Global Food Security at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) upcoming meet to increase food availability around the world. Foreign Advisor of Bangladesh Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said this to the media on Wednesday while sharing ... Continued...

China's grain supply; The ravening hoards
No need for alarm; but some Chinese ring bells anyway �WITH grain in our hands there is no need to panic,� according to China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao. But officials worry about how to keep China near self-sufficiency in grain and sheltered from rising world prices. Mr Wen's remarks dur... Continued...

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Fort Berthold members locked out
NEW TOWN, N.D. -- April 1 marked a particularly nasty turn in the growing controversy over the proposed oil refinery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Tribal leadership locked up the Northern Lights Tribal Community Building when members tried to organize a community presentation there on ... Continued...

Enbridge gets approval to expand oil pipeline
Enbridge, Inc., Canada's largest pipeline company, has received regulatory approval to expand an existing oil pipeline in Alberta to reduce the chance of a bottleneck as tar-sands output rises. The expansion's capacity will be 880,000 barrels a day, Canada's National Energy Board said yesterday i... Continued...

Bangladesh to buy domestic rice to boost stocks
Bangladesh launched a drive on Wednesday to buy 1.5 million tonnes of rice from farmers to boost its emergency food stocks, and urged the United Nations to treat the food shortage issue as a priority. "We will buy from 1.2 to 1.5 million tonnes of rice or paddy from the farmers," said Pius Costa,... Continued...

Inhofe Seen Eyeing Defense Bill As Vehicle To Repeal GHG Fuel Ban
Sen. James Inhofe (R -OK) is expected to push an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would repeal a provision enacted in last year's energy law that prohibits the federal government from purchasing alternative fuels that emit more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than conventional gasoli... Continued...

U.N. Panel Urges Changes to Feed Poor While Saving Environment
PARIS � Major agricultural countries must urgently change their policies to avoid a social explosion from rising food prices, a panel of United Nations experts warned Tuesday, adding their voices to new concerns about the proper balance between saving the environment and feeding the poor. �Mo... Continued...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Water Policy in Israel and Palestine: There's Enough Water for Both
Water plays a key role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Joseph Croitoru reports that a German hydro-geologist now questions the firmly entrenched views of Israelis and Palestinians on water policy. Water, a resource essential for life, is becoming increasingly scarce in many areas of the worl... Continued...

U.S. Food and Drug Regulators To Start Working in China
U.S. food and drug regulators will start working in China next month once Beijing gives its final approval, the top U.S. health official said Tuesday. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning to open an office in China as part of... Continued...

Politically Contrived Gasoline Shortage
sdddsdThe 1972 book The Limits to Growth (Meadows et al. 1972) sensationalized the theory that natural-resource depletion and rising pollution would soon bring catastrophe. The authors theorized that, among other problems, running out of basic resources such as petroleum would cause a collapse of in... Continued...

GLOBALIZATION, ECONOMIC SOVEREIGNTY AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: FROM PRINCIPLES TO REALITIES
ABSTRACT Key elements of this process are: the interconnection of sovereign nations through trade and capital flows, harmonization of the economic rules that govern relationship between these sovereign nations, creating structures to support and facilitate dependence and interconnection and creat... Continued...

GLOBALIZATION, ECONOMIC SOVEREIGNTY AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: FROM PRINCIPLES TO REALITIES
ABSTRACT Key elements of this process are: the interconnection of sovereign nations through trade and capital flows, harmonization of the economic rules that govern relationship between these sovereign nations, creating structures to support and facilitate dependence and interconnection and creat... Continued...

55 Countries Endorse Real Revolution in Agriculture
Governments and scientists from around the world announce their commitment to a radically different approach to global agricultural production. "Business as usual is not an option," says Robert Watson Director of the UN�s International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Dev... Continued...

Fifty five Countries Endorse Real Revolution in Agriculture
Governments and scientists from around the world announce their commitment to a radically different approach to global agricultural production. "Business as usual is not an option," says Robert Watson Director of the UN’s International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Devel... Continued...

Peerless Mfg. Co.Opens Office in Canada
Peerless Mfg. Co. today announced the latest addition to its group of companies with the recent formation of Peerless Manufacturing Canada Ltd., located in the city of Calgary. The new office will be the focal point of Peerless' efforts in continuing to serve the expanding western Canada oil and ga... Continued...

Monday, April 14, 2008

Colombia FTA Not Dead
Even if Hillary Clinton (top) or Obama Barack (above) win the November presidential elections, they will have to deal with the Colombia FTA, experts say. The U.S. Congress may still pass the US-Colombia free trade agreement, experts say. Despite the indefinite postponement of a congressi... Continued...

Civil Society Ready For UNCTAD
Civil society groups are gearing up for the 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which will kick-start from April 20, 2008 with several programmes expected to help push the agenda of developing countries. The conference would tackle key issues such as the Economic Part... Continued...

Food prices trump trade talks
The surge in world food prices is accomplishing what seven years of trade talks haven't: knocking down import barriers. The Doha round of global trade negotiations has been stalled since 2001 because developing nations have refused to lower import tariffs that protect their farmers and rich count... Continued...

Ban Ki-Moon to Grace UNCTAD Meeting in Accra
Barely Sixteen months into office as the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr.Ban Ki-Moon is scheduled to make his first official visit to Ghana this week. The eighth UN Secretary-General is visiting Ghana together with other prominent figures from the world of business, politics and policy makin... Continued...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Scientists Predict More Floods, Droughts
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Scientists predicted Thursday that climate change in coming decades will cause more flooding in the Northern Hemisphere and droughts in some southern and arid zones. In addition, they said that some areas around the Mediterranean, parts of southern Africa, northeastern Brazil ... Continued...

14 Twin Cities restaurants join tap-water brigade: The restaurants will reduce the use of bottled, non-carbonated water and promote the cities' high-quality tap water
Fourteen Minneapolis and St. Paul restaurants on Wednesday signed pledges to reduce the use of bottled, non-carbonated water and promote city tap water in an effort to cut down on plastic and glass waste. "Water is a basic human right, not a commodity to be bought and sold," said Amber Collett, ... Continued...

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Wisconsin: State legislators reach agreement on Great Lakes Water Compact
Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that he and Wisconsin legislators have reached an agreement on the Great Lakes Water Compact. Doyle said he will call for a special session on April 17 for the Legislature to adopt the compact. "We are ready to pass the Great Lakes Compact," Doyle said. "We have an ... Continued...

In Justice Shift, Corporate Deals Replace Trials
WASHINGTON — In 2005, federal authorities concluded that a Monsanto consultant had visited the home of an Indonesian official and, with the approval of a senior company executive, handed over an envelope stuffed with hundred-dollar bills. The money was meant as a bribe to win looser environmental re... Continued...

Pelosi to Stop the Clock on Colombia Trade Deal
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday will seek to change House rules to circumvent the 90-day timetable for taking up the Colombia free-trade agreement. The highly unusual move, made after a meeting of the Democratic Caucus, effectively allows Democrats to punt on the controversial trade pa... Continued...

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Food Prices and the Price Paid to Farmers
Food Prices Rise, Farmers Respond (April 1, 2008) �Food Prices Rise, Farmers Respond� (Business Day, April 1) discusses the effects that rising commodity prices have had on farmers and their planting decisions. As a group representing family farmers, we feel that it is just as urgen... Continued...

China approves its first human H5N1 vaccine
China's State Food and Drug Administration approved production of the country's first human vaccine for the H5N1 virus last week (2 April). Developed by Beijing Sinovac and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), the vaccine is based on whole, inactivated virus particl... Continued...

Food sovereignty movement gaining momentum
Canadian dairy farmers have begun talking about food sovereignty. Wikipedia says the term was coined in 1996 by a group of Third World farm and environmental organizations claiming the "right of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems." I don't dispute the ... Continued...

Monday, April 7, 2008

System of Rice Intensification — Optimising production with fewer inputs
Summary: The System of Rice Intensification is an alternative to the traditional way of flooded rice cultivation and is showing promise in addressing the problems of water scarcity, high energy usage and environmental degradation. The SRI method involves synergy of five important farm management tec... Continued...

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Research and Markets: In 2007, China's Fuel Ethanol Output Reached 1.6 Million Tons, of Which 80% Used Corn as Raw Materials
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c87741) has announced the addition of “China Bioenergy Industry Report, 2007-2008” to their offering. In 2007, China's fuel ethanol output reached 1.6 million tons, of which 80% used corn as raw materials. Based on the proportion 1:... Continued...

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Barcelona to import water for drought
Local officials say Barcelona will combat drought by importing water from other parts of Spain and neighboring France from next month. The second largest city in Spain is trying to deal with the region's worst drought in decades by bringing enough water to meet Barcelona's consumption needs for f... Continued...

U.S.A: Seaworth water decision opens floodgate of possibilities in Wellington
A local decision on how oil and water mix when it comes to water rights could have far-reaching ramifications across Colorado. Last month a state water court judge ruled Wellington Water Works, or WWW, has a right to take and use water pumped from deep underground as part of an oil operation nort... Continued...

Friday, April 4, 2008

Sudden 'Ecosystem Flips' Imperil World's Poorest Regions
Modern agriculture and land-use practices may lead to major disruptions of the world's water flows, with potentially sudden and dire consequences for regions least able to cope with them researchers at the Stockholm University-affiliated Stockholm Resilience Centre and McGill University have warned.... Continued...

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Researchers Study Playa Lakes Over the Ogallala
Are the tens of thousands of playa lakes that dot the Southern High Plains key to keeping the Ogallala Aquifer's dwindling waters clean? That's the question Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist Dennis Gitz is asking about North America's largest aquifer. Playas are ephemeral ... Continued...

Canada foils UN water plan: Advocates devastated at failure of resolution to recognize water as a basic human right
Canada emerged as the pivotal nation behind recent manoeuvres to block the United Nations Human Rights Council from recognizing water as a basic human right, according to international observers. The Geneva-based body wrapped up an intense three-week session late Friday without passing a German-S... Continued...

New Orleans Watches a Rising Mississippi
NORCO, La. (AP) -- In a sure sign that the Mississippi River is uncommonly high, muddy water poured steadily Tuesday into a holding area through a beaver-dam-like structure built after the great flood of 1927, aiming for the sea. For now, the Army Corps of Engineers is not overly concerned about ... Continued...

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

United Nations: Mixed Record On Millennium Development
I am grateful for this opportunity to address the General Assembly on the emergency we face in the work to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I thank the President of the General Assembly for organizing this timely debate and the Prime Minister of Finland for joining us to demonstrate hi... Continued...

Monday, March 31, 2008

Oil Giant BP's Role in 'Biggest Environmental Crisis'
In 1997, after British Petroleum publicly acknowledged the harmful effects of global warming, it quickly became known as the oil company with environmental virtue. While other oil corporations argued that climate change didn't exist -- most notably Exxon Mobil, which funded around 40 public polic... Continued...

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Marseilles to supply drought-stricken Barcelona with water
Marseilles has agreed in principle to provide water relief to Barcelona, which is suffering from severe drought. Under an agreement between la Société des eaux de Marseille (SEM) and Aquas de Barcelona, starting from May a fleet of seven tankers with a capacity of more than 28,000 cubic metres e... Continued...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

U.S. on the Verge of a Small Hydro Boom?
New Hampshire, United States: While the U.S. has seen a slight decline in total energy production from hydro resources over the last two decades, the industry is gearing up to reverse that trend and ride the wave of growth seen throughout the other renewable energy industries. But in order to sti... Continued...

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Renegotiating NAFTA? Sounds like a good idea.
Two Democratic contenders for the U.S. presidency suggest they'd like to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and it's as if the sky were falling in Canada. Conservatives and Liberals joined frightened CEOs across the country last week to describe a potential U.S. abrogation of ... Continued...

Friday, February 29, 2008

Linking NAFTA and immigration
As Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama slug out the Ohio round of their Democratic primary fight, the issue of NAFTA has returned to the center of debate, revealing deep, unresolved tension in the Democratic Party 15 years after the passage of the landmark trade agreement. It's not hard to ... Continued...

Linking NAFTA and immigration
As Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama slug out the Ohio round of their Democratic primary fight, the issue of NAFTA has returned to the center of debate, revealing deep, unresolved tension in the Democratic Party 15 years after the passage of the landmark trade agreement. It's not hard to ... Continued...

Thursday, February 28, 2008

The End of NAFTA?
Several articles in today's Globe and Mail assume that the US Democratic Party's desire to renegotiate NAFTA threatens Canada. On the contrary, Canadians should welcome this initiative. Senators Clinton and Obama have called for limits on the ability of foreign investors to directly challenge ... Continued...

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The North American Union Farce
It's got millions of rightwing citizens calling Congress, sponsoring legislation, and writing manifestos in defense of U.S. sovereignty. It comes up in presidential candidates' public appearances, has made it into primetime debates, and one presidential candidate-Ron Paul-used it as a central th... Continued...

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Road to Riches: Pipeline Through Paradise
It's estimated that one quarter of the world's untapped oil and gas reserves lie in the Arctic. And while politicians bicker loud and long over Iraqi oil, and oil executives lay plans for bringing natural gas and oil from West Africa, most know that the Arctic is the real prize in the ongoing intern... Continued...

Monday, September 17, 2007

China looms as 800-pound biotech gorilla
China is the largest export market for U.S. biotech commodities despite a lack of transparency in development and application of regulations. U.S. biotech soybeans and other products are selling at record levels and are forecast to continue doing so well into the future, according to USDA's Foreign ... Continued...

Monday, May 29, 2006

Misconduct Taints the Water in Some Privatized Systems When cities hire firms to run utilities, they seek quality at lower cost.
INDIANAPOLIS - In recent years, cities across the U.S. have turned over a vital public service - providing safe drinking water - to private enterprise. Driving the trend was the idea that for-profit companies, mainly European conglomerates, could operate water and sewer systems efficiently, keepi... Continued...