WTO: China pushes for talks on Article XXVIII, challenges US and EU (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
China, along with Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand and Turkiye, on 20 May is understood to have raised the stakes for technical discussions at the World Trade Organization's Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) on the potentially improper use of Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994, which allows for the modification or withdrawal of tariff concessions on systemic grounds, according to people familiar with the development.

WHA79: PABS talks extended; legal certainty stressed by developing countries (PRIV)
(Rajnia Rodrigues and Nithin Ramakrishnan, Geneva)
The 79th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA79) decided to extend the negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) Annex to the Pandemic Agreement for one more year.

Bangladesh: UN appeals for $710 million to aid Rohingya refugees (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
The United Nations, working closely with the Government of Bangladesh and humanitarian partners, has launched an appeal for USD 710.5 million to sustain essential services for Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char, as well as for vulnerable host communities.