Trade : Iran rejects US "Project Freedom", casts doubt on humanitarian gesture (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Yerevan)
Iran on 4 May appeared to dismiss United States President Donald Trump's latest initiative, "Project Freedom" - described as a "humanitarian gesture" on behalf of the US to allow ships from countries not involved in the "Middle Eastern dispute" to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

WTO : China slams US tariffs, S301 probes amid US threat of EU auto duties (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Yerevan)
China has severely criticized the United States for its Section 301 investigations - based on a non-WTO concept of "overcapacity" - as well as for Washington's imposition of a unilateral "10% tariff on various economies under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974," during a meeting of the World Trade Organization's Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) on 30 April.

Climate : Land-based mitigation increases risk of hunger in South countries (PRIV)
(Hilary Kung, Kuala Lumpur)
At a recent dialogue held under the UNFCCC's Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) in Yeosu, Republic of Korea from 24 to 25 April 2026, India highlighted that the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that "1.5 degrees C [mitigation] pathways could increase the risk of hunger and worsen food security by mid-century, especially in Africa and South Asia due to more land being used for mitigation projects like Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage [BECCS] in the Global South, as well as rising global food prices driven by increased pressure on land."