WTO : US, farm-exporting nations reject mandated issues, agriculture package (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The chair of the World Trade Organization's Doha agriculture negotiating body is understood to have said on 25 June that he is not issuing any draft text for the upcoming WTO's 14th ministerial conference (MC14), while the United States seemingly defended its reciprocal tariffs on national security grounds in response to a question from China, said people familiar with the development.

UN : Attacks on world order, global aid derailing progress on poverty (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Unprecedented cuts to global aid and intensifying attacks on multilateralism are undermining decades of progress in the fight against poverty, a United Nations human rights expert has warned.

Afghanistan : Small-scale enterprise becomes beacon of hope for women (PRIV)
(IPS, Kabul)
It was a sunny winter day in Kabul. I decided to step out and take a stroll around my surroundings.