Trade : LDCs hit hard by fall in global trade due to COVID-19, says WTO (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been hit hard by the decline in world trade triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the value of LDC merchandise exports falling by 16% during the first half of 2020, the World Trade Organization has said.

Trade : Attempts to finalize "symbolic" agreement on fisheries by year-end (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Notwithstanding the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, the chair of the Doha Rules negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills from Colombia, appears to have accelerated his attempts to finalize a "symbolic" agreement by the end of the year on disciplines for prohibiting fisheries subsidies, said people familiar with the ongoing negotiations.

Opinion : The armoured divisions of the European Union (PRIV)
(IPS, Miami)
An anecdote tells, never sufficiently confirmed, that in the hardest moments of the Second World War when Stalin was dictating his orders of battle to his subordinates, he was told that perhaps it would be advisable to consult with the Pope.