Trade : NAMA week saw "good progress", says Chair    (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
A week of negotiations on market access for non-agricultural products (NAMA), devoted mainly to trying to achieve convergence on various proposals on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), was a "very constructive one", with Members moving forward "slowly, but surely".

Trade : Talks on GI register should focus on "practical" issues    (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The ongoing negotiations on a multilateral register of geographical indications (GI) for wines and spirits should avoid "rhetorical" debates and should instead focus on "practical" issues.

Climate : Developed countries' emission cuts pledges under Copenhagen Accord    (PRIV)
(Meena Raman, Geneva)
Thirty-nine developed countries, referred to as Annex 1 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have submitted their national pledges for emissions reductions (in percentage by 2020 from a base year of 1990 or 2005), and have expressed their association with the Copenhagen Accord.

Development : South-South cooperation key to MDGs    (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Member states meeting here Thursday called for the immediate implementation of development commitments made during the Nairobi high-level UN conference on cooperation between developing countries.

Afghanistan : Peace talks may follow ex-Taliban mediators' plan    (PRIV)
(IPS, Kabul)
If peace talks do ultimately begin between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban leadership, they may well follow a "road map" to a political settlement drawn up by a group of ex-Taliban officials who have been serving as intermediaries between the two sides.