News headlines in March 2009, page 3

Namibian women’s rights activists say existing gender legislation has failed to improve women’s lives because it is not being implemented widely enough. Last August, Namibia signed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gender protocol but politicians have yet to ratify it.

Is the U.N. willing to emulate the U.S. model of engaging private defence and security firms in dealing with issues of war and peace?

Antonio Moreno is the banquet manager of a four star hotel in the south-eastern Mexican resort city of Cancún, but for more than a year his duties have included digging through the trash.

Limits placed on a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in prosecuting surviving leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime may not prevent revelations about international actors linked to Cambodia's dark period.

Talks on the global economic crisis, to be held Thursday, could prove a timely reminder of the perils of hype.

Egyptian and Israeli officials celebrated the anniversary of the Camp David peace agreement last week. The agreement normalised relations between the two former adversaries 30 years earlier on Mar. 26. Opposition leaders, however, are calling for a suspension of the treaty, which they say fails to serve Egyptian interests.

The weak governments in Hungary and the Czech Republic have fallen, raising questions on the future of liberal economic reform and the influence of the U.S., the European Union and Russia in the region.

In the Middle East this week it's all change. In fact, it's all diplomatic stasis. Neither Monday's Arab League summit in Doha nor Tuesday's induction of a new Israeli government in Jerusalem is likely to break or even ease the conflict deadlock that grips the region.

Despite the challenges that the global economic crisis poses to Africa and other developing regions in the southern hemisphere, South-South trade still offers huge opportunities as there is room for growth beyond the current levels.

While most countries in the world welcome Washington’s conciliatory message towards Iran, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are sceptical about an appropriate response from their neighbour.