Trade : Positions remain unchanged on GI register (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The ongoing negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on a multilateral register of geographical indications (GIs) for wines and spirits saw no change in positions among Members.

Trade : US seems to stand pat on "zeroing" at Rules meet (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The United States made clear this week that any Rules Agreement in the Doha Round must address in a "balanced and fair" manner the issue of "zeroing" where, according to the US, the Appellate Body's rulings against zeroing did not "accurately reflect" the results of the Uruguay Round, but created obligations that the US and other countries disagreed with.

Europe : Economists blame Germany for Mediterranean crisis (PRIV)
(IPS, Berlin)
Germany's obsession with maintaining a trade surplus, in line with its mercantilist traditions, is one cause for the severe economic crisis that has gripped several Euro-Mediterranean countries, say economists.

Rights : Arab women caught between extremes (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The status of women in a predominantly male-chauvinistic Arab world continues to fluctuate from one extreme to another.

Guatemala : Off track for Millennium Development Goals (PRIV)
(IPS, Guatemala City)
Guatemala knows that when it comes time to demonstrate compliance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of global anti-poverty and development target to be met by 2015, it will make a poor showing.

United States : Detained migrant women shackled during childbirth (PRIV)
(IPS, Phoenix)
When Maricopa County sheriff's deputies raided Celia Alejandra Alvarez's workplace and discovered her hiding place, she says they lifted her off her feet and slammed her face into a wall, causing injuries to her jaw and teeth. Later, in detention for having false documents, she says she was not given medical care.