Trade: Colombia seeks comprehensive review of WTO's TRIPS Agreement (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Colombia has fired the proverbial first s alvo against the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Agreement by seeking a "comprehensive" review of the implementation of the agreement which is repl ete with numerous controversies since its entry into the WTO's rule-book on 1 January 1996, following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round trade negotiati ons, said people familiar with the development.

UN: Nearly 282 million in 59 countries facing high levels of acute hunger (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
281.6 million people or 21.5 percent of the analysed population in 59 countries/ territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2023, an increase of nearly 24 million from the previous year , according to the latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC).

Afghanistan: Women's voices stifled as Taliban tightens media controls (PRIV)
(IPS, Kabul)
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, the space for women in the public sphere has significantly narrowed, with successive orders further restricting their presence in various sectors, in cluding the media.