Trade: After failed talks, Trump threatens blockade of Strait of Hormuz (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Following 21 hours of face-to-face negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, in the early hours of 11 April - which failed to produce any agreement - United States President Donald Trump issued two social media posts on 12 April threatening a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a euphemism for likely military action, reports suggested.

WHO: EU, other North countries refuse to accept equitable PABS system (PRIV)
(Nithin Ramakrishnan, Kochi)
The sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG6) was suspended due to the refusal of the European Union and other developed countries to accept proposals for a fair and equitable Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system.

Opinion: Imposing tariffs declared a sham (PRIV)
(Goh Chien Yen, Kuala Lumpur)
Richard Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, Inc., the educational toy company whose Supreme Court victory struck down President Trump's IEEPA tariffs six weeks earlier, has filed a four-page submission to the US Trade Representative (USTR) challenging the foundation of the Section 301 investigations into "structural excess capacity" across 16 economies.