News headlines in March 2009, page 18

Dr. Kazem Jalali, an influential conservative member of Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, and rapporteur of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, sees possibilities for a thaw with Washington, but believes that many Arab states in the Gulf 'see their interests in keeping the current state of continual conflict among the west, the U.S., and the Islamic Republic of Iran.'

Trade experts are sceptical about the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s renewed emphasis on South-South trade to counter the global economic crisis.

While South Africa plays for time, the signing of a finalised economic partnership agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and the southern African countries seems imminent - despite regional trade fragmentation remaining a danger.

As environmental experts, NGOs and government officials gather in Istanbul this week to attend the Fifth World Water Forum, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has drawn attention to the critical water situation in Gaza.

The global recession will raise the already high incidence of poverty in South Asia on the back of layoffs, decreased foreign aid and dwindling resources for social welfare, say economists and experts.

Whether through drought, floods, melting of ice or a rise in sea level, water will be the first to feel the effects of climate change, says Dr. Mark Smith, who heads the water programme at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's largest environmental network.

With the internecine battle among some of the 42 contributing nations to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) over burden-sharing in Afghanistan continuing, the Australian government is giving little away about its intentions regarding an expected request for more troops.

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama should work hard on areas of common interest with Russia in order to build a 'partnership, however uneasy,' that would serve Washington's interests in key areas, including non-proliferation, energy, and counter-terrorism, according to a new report released here Monday by the Nixon Centre and the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

Human rights activists and constitutional law experts were virtually unanimous in their condemnation of the positions taken on prisoner detention and treatment in federal court last week by President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice, which one group described as 'a case of old wine in new bottles.'

Nomboniso Gasa chairs South Africa’s Commission for Gender Equality and is an independent gender research analyst. A committed feminist and political activist, she was first imprisoned in apartheid-era South Africa at age 14.