WTO: US rejects draft farm text ahead of MC14 as others signal support (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The United States on 3 March appeared to reject the "Draft Declaration on Agriculture, Trade and Food Security" issued by the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiating body for the World Trade Organisation's 14th ministerial conference (MC14), to be held in Yaounde, Cameroon, from 26 to 29 March.

UN: Escalating violence in Middle East sparks humanitarian concerns (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
As the Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran enter the fifth day, the United Nations warned that the humanitarian consequences of the escalating violence in the Middle East are becoming overwhelming, with civilians bearing the brunt of the conflict.

Afghanistan: UN experts urge halt to Taliban's use of corporal punishment (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
A group of United Nations human rights experts has condemned the Taliban's growing use of judicially-sanctioned corporal punishment in Afghanistan - often carried out publicly for alleged moral crimes - as a clear violation of international human rights law.