Trade: G20 talks reveal discord on WTO reform, US prioritizes its interests (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The chair's summary of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting, which concluded in Gqeberha, South Africa on 10 October, revealed significant divergences on how to advance reforms at the World Trade Organization.

UN: Corporate agribusiness imperils peasant rights & food sovereignty (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
A handful of powerful corporations control vast portions of global agricultural production, input markets and food supply chains, a concentration of power that undermines the autonomy of small-scale farmers, exacerbates inequality and endangers the ecological foundations of food systems, a group of United Nations human rights experts warned on 16 October.

Rights: New internet restrictions keep Afghanistan out of global spotlight (PRIV)
(IPS, Kabul)
At the end of September, the Taliban abruptly severed Wi-Fi and fiber-optic internet in Afghanistan for 48 hours without any explanation.