Trade : Goods Council discusses 'trade facilitation' (PRIV)
(Chakravarthi Raghavan, Geneva)
The WTO Council on Trade in Goods (CTG) which at a two day meeting last week held its first substantive discussions on the 'Trade Facilitation' mandate arising from the Doha Ministerial Declaration, and took up the 'transparency provisions' in Article X of the GATT, and five papers on this from the EU, Japan, Korea, Canada and the US.

Trade : Fast-track bill clears Senate, faces more hurdles (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
"Fast track" trade legislation approved by the historically trade-friendly US Senate Thursday night must now be reconciled with a much different version passed by a one-vote margin in the House of Representatives last December.

Development : NGOs assail 'greenwash' of corporate-led globalization (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
More than 30 civil society organizations have issued a declaration in the run-up to the UN World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) that has come out against the 'greenwashing' by corporations of the corporate-led globalization agenda and, among others, has called for civil society mobilization against the corporate capture of the WSSD.

United Nations : Indigenous Forum completes work plan, seeks money (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
An historic meeting of indigenous people ended here Friday with a plea for funding to carry out the fresh work plan of the UN system's first full-time body dedicated to aboriginal issues.

United States : Biological weapons documents handed over to Justice Dept (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Three Pentagon documents containing proposals for the development of offensive biological weapons have been turned over by the Sunshine Project to the US Department of Justice, the US government's law enforcement agency, with a request for the US Attorney to take action pursuant to the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989.