Interview by Pierre Martinot

Brussels, 7 August 2006 (ICFTU OnLine): According to a 2003 ILO study
covering 1,500 cocoa producers in Côte d'Ivoire, there are over 5,000
children working in the country's cocoa plantations. These children may or
may not be paid and are not receiving any form of education. Most come from
the neighbouring countries and are victims of the child trafficking rackets
organised with Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali.

A labor union of a company who is producing garment products for Wal Mart, the biggest retail store in the US, is posing to hold a strike following their employers' refusal to begin negotiations for worker's benefits and welfare.

The Chong Won Fashion, Inc., a Korean-owned garment factory, has since refused and opposing to begin negotiations with the union for their collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The company supplies garment products for US-based retail store Wal Mart.

By Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- When it comes to selling overseas, the strategies of American retailers don't always translate.

The failed attempt of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, to conquer Germany illustrates the pitfalls of trying to stamp the U.S. model on another culture. Companies from Starbucks Corp. to Toys ``R'' Us Inc. have had to change the formulas that brought them domestic success when they have expanded abroad.

By Dave Zirin & Derek Tyner

Major League Baseball's All-Star game is supposed to be a breezy exhibition of the sport's brightest stars.

It's also a place for baseball's corporate patrons to be wined, dined and reassured about the current state of the game.