Trade: Kazakhstan initiates dispute over Indonesian duties on steel coils (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Kazakhstan has initiated a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the imposition by Indonesia of additional ad valorem duties on imports of hot-rolled steel coils originating in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

UN: Middle East crisis could cost Asia-Pacific up to $299 billion, says UNDP (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Human development gains across the Asia and Pacific region are coming under renewed strain as the economic shockwaves from the recent military escalation in the Middle East spread across households, even amid a temporary ceasefire, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has warned.

UN: Funding shortfall crippling aid efforts in CAR (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Severe funding shortfalls are sharply constraining humanitarian operations in the Central African Republic (CAR), leaving aid organisations unable to reach many of the people most in need, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).