Trade : TRIPS Council to resume discussions next week on TRIPS waiver (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage countries across the world, the need for putting people's lives before the patents and profits of the big pharmaceutical companies could not have come a day too soon at the WTO, which is currently discussing a waiver for suspending crucial provisions in the TRIPS Agreement in combating the worst pandemic in the last 100 years, analysts said.

Finance : OTC derivatives surge in first half of 2020, says BIS (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The gross market value of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives - which provides a measure of amounts at risk - rose from $11.6 trillion to $15.5 trillion during the first half of 2020, mainly driven by increases in interest rate derivatives, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has said.

Chile : Energy revolution has an Achilles' heel (PRIV)
(IPS, Santiago)
The Atacama Desert, a giant reservoir of solar power, is the battering ram of the transformation undertaken by Chile to de-carbonise its energy mix, in a country with enormous potential in non-conventional renewable sources.