COVID-19 : Uncertainty over upcoming GC meet due to new Swiss restrictions (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The prospects for convening a special WTO General Council meeting on 9 November to decide on the appointment of Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria as the new WTO director- general hang in the balance, following the latest COVID-19 pandemic restrictions announced by the Swiss authorities.

Finance : Crisis alla Turca II - from currency crisis to debt crisis? (PRIV)
(IPS, Geneva)
The meltdown of the Turkish currency that began in 2018 has continued unabated with the decline reaching unprecedented proportions in recent days.

UN : Nuclear arms control in crisis while US exerts pressure on treaty signatories (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Responding to a question, Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist who won the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics, predicted rather ominously: "I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

COVID-19 : In the face of a pandemic, the world turns to trade (PRIV)
(IPS, Mexico City)
Greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, international trade can play a key role in the economic recovery, but it must overcome obstacles, such as protectionism and commercial disputes, especially between the United States and China.