Trade : No progress cited on sensitive products in Green Room (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
A Green Room meeting at the WTO of trade negotiators from some dozen countries discussed on Tuesday the issue of sensitive products in agriculture. While the discussions were described as being "good", no progress appears to have been made.

Health : US military flu virus collection parallels WHO virus system (PRIV)
(Edward Hammond, Bogota)
A large and rapidly growing global US military virus collection system parallels the World Health Organization's Global Influenza Surveillance Network (WHO GISN) but does not entirely share its public health purposes.

Development : World Bank, IMF heads under fire for skipping summit (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The chief executive officers of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two financial institutions based in Washington, have come under heavy fire for their decision to skip a major UN conference on Financing for Development (FfD), scheduled to take place in the Qatari capital Doha over the weekend.

Development : Will any crumbs remain after bankers' feast? (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The vast resources the US and Europeans are pouring into ailing financial firms could lead to disastrous consequences for global efforts to reduce poverty and mitigate the impacts of climate change, warns a new study by an independent think tank.

Development : Gender violence "pandemic" highlighted at UN (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Activists and UN officials called on governments to take stronger action to end violence against women Tuesday, with at least one out of every three women around the world having been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime -- with the abuser usually someone known to her.

Development : Russia-Georgia conflict left legacy of displaced (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
As the European Union launches a probe into the conflict between Georgian and Russian troops in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia last August -- with much of the blame now being cast on Georgia for firing the first shots -- thousands of civilians remain displaced and homeless at the start of winter.