Trade : Congress-Bush spat kills any hopes of "fast track" for WTO deal (PRIV)
(Martin Khor, Geneva)
Whatever slight chances that a WTO modalities deal in May would be able to tempt the US Congress to give President Bush a special fast track authority for an overall Doha deal were killed in the huge spat over the past two days between the US Congress and Bush over a US-Colombia free trade agreement.

Trade : Green Room cannot agree on rules; agri meeting discusses SP (PRIV)
(Martin Khor, Geneva)
A Green Room meeting at the WTO late on 10 April afternoon could not agree on how to treat the issue of "rules" in the "horizontal process" that is expected to take place in May.

Trade : TRIPS Chair to prepare report on register for wines and spirits (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The Chair of the Special Session of the TRIPS Council informed members on Friday that he is preparing a factual report on the negotiations on a multilateral register for Geographical Indications (GIs) for wines and spirits for the forthcoming "horizontal process" on the Doha Round.

United Nations : Jolted by attacks on peacekeepers in Haiti (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The United Nations may be heading for trouble in Haiti, where a demonstration against rising food prices turned into an attack against UN peacekeepers and the local offices of the world body.

Climate : Will societies bend, or snap in the storm? (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
A new risk-analysis of the negative consequences of climate change warns of potential "devastation and violence (worldwide) jeopardising national and international security to a new degree."

Iraq : Calm on the surface, simmering beneath (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
With the head of the occupying forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker delivering a progress report to Congress this week, Iraq has been thrust back into the US public consciousness, along with all the political divisions the issue engenders.

United States : Lobbyists spend record sums to influence Washington (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
The old jab about the United States having the best democracy money can buy took on new meaning Thursday.

United States : NAFTA re-negotiation - promise or mirage? (PRIV)
(IPS, Mexico City)
Trade unions and left-wing activists in Mexico are pleased that both US presidential hopefuls for the Democratic Party have said that they will withdraw their country from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) unless the treaty is re-negotiated.