Trade : Protectionism must be resisted, South needs policy space - BRICS (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
While in full agreement that all forms of protectionism must be resisted, the trade ministers of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa (BRICS), at the same time underscored the need for developing countries to retain and use, when necessary, any existing WTO-consistent policy space.

Trade : G-20, G-33 issue communiques for MC8 (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Underscoring with concern that the continuation of the WTO trade reform process in agriculture is at an impasse, the ministers of the G-20 grouping at the World Trade Organization (WTO) underlined that agriculture is the centrepiece of the Doha Round and it must determine the general level of ambition within the overall negotiations.

Climate : Decision on Green Climate Fund adopted (PRIV)
(Meena Raman, Geneva)
One significant outcome of the Durban climate talks was the adoption on 11 December of a decision by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) on the Green Climate Fund, thus clearing the way for further development of the fund that had been established at the Cancun conference a year ago.

Climate : Canada withdraws from Kyoto Protocol (PRIV)
(IPS, Cape Town)
Barely 24 hours after it signed a new global climate change agreement in Durban, South Africa, Canada became on Monday the first country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding treaty to reduce emissions causing climate change.

Iraq : Switches allegiance to US weapons systems (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
As the United States withdraws the last of its 50,000 troops after a nearly nine-year military occupation of Iraq, visiting Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki had one final request: billions of dollars worth of US weapons for his ragtag armed forces.