africa/global: Wealth of nations hangs on WTO Cancun talks

Is it fair that every European cow laps up $2.50 a day in subsidies while half the people in the world live on less than $2 a day? Cutting through the technical jargon, that is the crucial political question that trade ministers from 146 countries must answer when they meet next week in the Mexican resort of Cancun. The gathering will assess the prospects for the World Trade Organisation's Doha round of market-opening talks, launched in the Qatari capital in November 2001 and ambitiously scheduled to be wrapped up by the end of next year.