11 August 2000 : news summary:

Inter. Organisations, Agencies & Partnerships

‘Tact with a hint of All Black toughness‘, T, 5/8/00
Profile of Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, and his first four months in office.

‘UN’s bold – if vague – new formulas against poverty‘, Terraviva, July/August, p1
Discusses some of the resolutions adopted after the UN General Assembly set a 2015 target for halving world poverty.

‘Dossier‘, Terraviva, July/August, p7-10
The Terraviva Dossier gives a review of the major issues and developments at the Special Session of the General Assembly of the UN on social development, or the Copenhagen Plus Five.

Economic Development

‘Devaluation may lift exchange rate‘, FT, 4/8/00
Despite Zimbabwe’s currency devaluation, its exchange rate may improve due to previous transactions made at the free market rate.

‘Zimbabwe faces uphill struggle‘, FT, 8/8/00
Zimbabwe’s economy has a struggle ahead as Mugabe prepares to carry out 3,000 farm takeovers.

Aid & Debt

Various, 6/8/00-8/8/00
A government report reveals gross mismanagement and bureaucracy in the EU aid programme. On average, countries have to wait four years for EU aid to be delivered.
Also: ‘Disaster aid must speed up’, EXP, 9/8/00
EU aid programme faces calls to reform.

‘The poor of Africa need more than just food‘, IND, 9/8/00
Highlights criticism of food aid as a answer to Africa’s problems and emphasizes the need for sustainable solutions.

‘The harsh consequences of forgiveness‘, FT, 9/8/00
Article is cynical about the effectiveness of debt forgiveness instead arguing that targeted aid would be of more assistance.

‘Sudan aid flights stop after bombs‘, FT, 10/8/00
UN umbrella group, Operation Lifeline Sudan have suspended aid flights due to the threat of bombs.

Health

‘A small jab from Unicef, a giant leap for Cambodia‘, G, 4/8/00
Unicef’s Tetanus immunisation scheme to protect against child mortality.

‘Lovely bunch of mosquito killers‘, FT, 5/8/00
An innovative technique using coconuts is helping in the fight against malaria.

Various, 8/9/00-10/9/00
The 11th World Congress on Tobacco or Health: Tobacco consumption is rising in developing countries. A new WHO/World Bank report claims that increasing tobacco taxes could prevent millions of tobacco related deaths, especially in low and middle income countries.

Government

‘Short attacks Third World TV coverage‘, T, 9/8/00
Clare Short will commission a programme to counter the negative coverage given to developing countries at this month’s Edinburgh Television Festival.

‘Foreign Office apologises‘, FT, 10/8/00
FO has apologised for launching a scheme in Sudan which appeared to be designed to prevent asylum seekers entering Britain.

‘The strongman’s return‘, G, 9/8/00
Profiles Peru and Venezuela’s newly elected presidents and their policies.

Business, Trade & Development

‘A forum for improving globalisation‘, FT, 1/8/00
The chairman of Nike talks of the UN’s Global Compact which outlines a framework for monitoring the global activities of multinationals.

‘Globalisation’s ‘losers’ become it’s movers‘, TWNF, July 2000
Globalisation will lead to increased international migration flows contrary to expectation according to an ILO publication.

‘Can Man U save the world?‘, ST, 6/8/00
Manchester United boss speaks about the club’s new 3-year programme to raise money for Unicef.

‘Haggling ‘makes the poor poorer‘, INDoS, 6/8/00
Tearfund have launched a guide to ethical tourism which highlights "ruthless haggling" as irresponsible.

Environment

‘Global warming creates unstable earth‘, IND, 7/8/00
The consequences of global warming are becoming increasingly devastating causing millions to lose their lives, homes and livelihoods.

‘Death of languages ‘threat to ecology", EXP, 8/8/00
Thousand of languages on the verge of extinction could lead to the eradication of local knowledge of traditions and the environment.

‘New gold rush threat to Sting’s forgotten Indians‘, EXP, 8/8/00
Amazon Indians are fighting to save their native soil from speculators testing for rich ores.

‘Poorest countries call for right to water‘, Terraviva, July/August, p6
The P7 summit calls for access to water to be declared a basic human right and for it to cease being regarded as a tradable commodity.

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