Trade : Japan's Ihara to chair WTO's General Council this year (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The General Council of the World Trade Organisation on Wednesday noted the consensus on the slate of chairpersons of its various WTO bodies for this year.

Syria : Victims continue to suffer as conflict violence re-escalates (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Civilians, once again, have not only been the unintentional victims of violence in the conflict in Syria, but have often been deliberately targeted through unlawful means and methods of warfare, according to a new report by the UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

United Nations : Syria's "human catastrophe" (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Despite calls for a ceasefire, violent clashes have continued and humanitarian access remains limited in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, leaving the international community extremely concerned.

Chile : Rural women are essential to the struggle against hunger (PRIV)
(IPS, Santiago)
Adelaida Marca, an Aymaran indigenous woman who produces premium oregano in Socoroma, in the foothills of the Andes in the far north of Chile, embodies the recovery of heirloom seeds, and is a representative of a workforce that supports thousands of people and of a future marked by greater gender equality.