Trade: WTO Members assert bilateral trade deals with US are non-binding (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the European Union informed China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) last week that their respective bilateral framework trade agreements with the Trump administration - necessitated by the allegedly unilateral and illegal reciprocal tariffs - are "not legally binding" and are therefore not "subject to [WTO] notification" requirements.

Finance: Global OTC interest rate derivatives surge to $7.9 trillion daily (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Turnover of over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives (IRD) averaged $7.9 trillion per day in April 2025, representing a significant increase of 59% relative to the average daily turnover of $5.0 trillion reported in April 2022, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Haiti: Gender-based violence surges amid chronic underfunding, warns UN (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that gender-based violence continues at alarming levels in Haiti, with chronic underfunding further compounding the crisis.