Development : US draft paper counters Development Agenda in WIPO (PRIV)
(Sangeeta Shashikant, Geneva)
A draft proposal by the United States titled "Establishment of a Partnership Program in WIPO" for a forthcoming World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting on the Development Agenda in April is circulating among some delegations in Geneva.

United Nations : Debt burden a major obstacle for South in achieving MDGs (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
An unsustainable debt burden is a major obstacle for developing countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and in making progress in the realization of the right to development.

United Nations : UN abandons policy of secrecy in senior appointments (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Breaking away from a longstanding tradition of secrecy and non-transparency in senior UN appointments, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has released the names of six candidates vying for the highest-ranking UN job in the field of development.

United Nations : Our glass is only half full (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Monks, priests, shamans and followers of a dozen different religions spoke at UN headquarters Tuesday to mark the first World Water Day in the UN's "Water for Life" decade and to pray for what is the most widely shared resource in the world - fresh water.

Development : Europe prepares its case against Wolfowitz (PRIV)
(IPS, Brussels)
Paul Wolfowitz, the controversial US nominee to take over as World Bank president, will face some of his biggest critics during a trip to Brussels.

United States : Pentagon reaffirms globo-cop role (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
March has been a bad month for the world's multilateralists who, encouraged by several early appointments to the State Department and a successful presidential tour of Europe, had hoped that George W. Bush would temper his unilateralist instincts in his second term.

Environment : Warming threatens precious wetlands (PRIV)
(IPS, Brooklin)
South America's giant Pantanal wetland could be destroyed should global temperatures rise three to four degrees Celsius, as would 85% of the world's wetlands, according to a new report.

Note to Readers : Holiday Notice (PRIV)
(, )
Due to the Easter holidays in Europe, the next issue #5768 will appear on 29 March 2005.