Trade : Brazil announces countermeasures against US in cotton dispute (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The Brazilian government on 8 March published its final list of goods originating from the United States that will be subject to increased import duties, in line with the authorization it received from the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization to suspend the application to the United States of concessions and other obligations in the upland cotton dispute.

Haiti : US acts quickly on debt relief ahead of Preval visit (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
With US President Barack Obama preparing to host Haitian President Rene Preval at the White House on 10 March, Congress is moving quickly to show support for far-reaching debt relief and additional aid for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean nation.

Sri Lanka : Water woes fall on women's shoulders (PRIV)
(IPS, Colombo)
As a wife of a rice farmer and mother of two children aged nine and two, Sanjeevani Bandara's days are packed with chores. Yet while she used to be able to keep up with all she has to do in a day, this Sri Lankan mother now finds herself struggling to accomplish even the most basic tasks.

Iraq : Elections bring joy and uncertainty (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
The holding of Iraq's third parliamentary elections on Sunday has generated a sense of satisfaction in Washington, but there is a feeling of anxiety about how the post-election negotiation process to form a new government might proceed.

Environment : CITES faces political storm over tuna ban (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
The vast majority of the species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, live on land, but as marine species come under increasing pressure from unsustainable fishing and a range of climate change-related threats, that focus is beginning to shift.

Middle East : Israeli left emerges from coma amid atrocities (PRIV)
(IPS, Sheikh Jarrah)
Amid the wave of violence that swept through the occupied Palestinian West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over the last few days, there are signs that the Israeli left may be emerging from its collective coma.