The United Nations Millennium Campaign, FEMNET and OXFAM GB will present a series of global conversations broadcast live on Facebook at 8:00 am from March 3 to March 5, to discuss the status of the promises world leaders have made to women in the Millennium Development Goals. Gender activists will connect over Skype with African citizens in real time to discuss gender empowerment, decent work and maternal health from the sidelines of the Commission on the Status of Women being held at the United Nations in New York this week. The conversations can be viewed on www.facebook.com/mcampaign.

Members of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) wrote a letter to WTO Director General, Pascal Lamy in response to a speech he made on the 13th of January in connection with trade and human rights. In the letter to Mr Lamy, the CSOs welcomed the open dialogue where these issues and concerns can be addressed. However, the main message to the WTO Director is that there should be "concrete examination of the inconsistencies and conflicts between current models of trade liberalization and fundamental human rights obligations."

 THE Church of England has divested from mining company, Vedanta Resources, the majority shareholder of Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia, after sustained pressure from campaigners, including many Christian groups.

The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board announced that they sold their shares in the company on the advice of the Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG). 

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has set up a high-level advisory panel to mobilize funding to help developing nations battle climate change. The panel, to be led by Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi, is aimed "to mobilize the resources for climate change pledged at the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen," Ban told reporters.

Trade Minister Simon Crean today signed a letter of intent with South Africa’s Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica to renew the Australia-South Africa climate change partnership.

The renewed three-year partnership will focus on joint activities including in the priority areas of climate change adaptation in the agriculture sector and greenhouse emissions reporting and monitoring. It was also agreed that Australia and South Africa would have an exchange program on climate change policies and experiences – with a focus on clean coal technologies.

The delay in the signing of economic partnership agreements by East African Community member states has aroused the ire of the European Union.

The EU has described the situation as untenable and contrary to both EU law and World Trade Organisation rules. According to Mr Timothy Clarke, head of the EU Delegation in Tanzania, the deal needs to be sealed swiftly.

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With the Mining Indaba just a week away, it's important to highlight the issues that miners are facing on the ground. This article from www.postzambia.com explains some of the contentious issues in the mining sector, in this instance in Zambia.The paper highlights the debates around wind-fall taxes, tax incentives and salary disputes.