Trade : US lawmakers urge Biden to support TRIPS waiver proposal at WTO (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
A group of lawmakers from the Democratic Party want US President Joe Biden to support the TRIPS waiver proposal that seeks to temporarily suspend several provisions in the WTO's TRIPS Agreement in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, said a source familiar with the development.

Q&A : Tigray - fighting will continue & exacerbate civilian suffering (PRIV)
(IPS, Bonn)
While Ethiopia's federal government may have administrative control of the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, and other main cities in the region, including Shire, Adwa, and Aksum, after removing the regional government from power in late November - armed resistance in Tigray is not over and could continue for months.

Opinion : The UN - from the sublime to the hilarious (PRIV)
(IPS, Melbourne)
The United Nations is an institution mired in politics focusing primarily on military conflicts, civil wars, economic sanctions, peacekeeping, plus sustainable economic development.