WTO : South voices support for prioritizing mandated issues in agriculture (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, New Delhi)
Many developing countries on 4 December supported a proposal for prioritizing the unresolved mandated issues in agriculture such as the permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) programs for food security in developing countries, the special safeguard mechanism (SSM), and cotton through text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization, said people familiar with the development.

UN : Global trade to reach all-time high in 2024 amid an uncertain outlook (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Global trade is set to hit an all-time high of nearly US$33 trillion in 2024, up US$1 trillion from the previous year, largely driven by a 7 per cent rise in services trade, according to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Opinion : New approaches urgently needed to tackle resurgent social crises (PRIV)
(IPS, Kuala Lumpur)
Despite uneven economic recovery since the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and food insecurity continue to worsen, including in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to fare better than the rest of the Global South.