Trade : African Group calls for robust deal on public stockholding at MC12 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The African Group on 12 July called for a robust agreement on the permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) programs for food security in developing countries at the WTO's 12th ministerial conference (MC12) to be held in Geneva in end-November, said people familiar with the development.

Rights : Israeli settlements amount to a war crime, says UN expert (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Israel's policy of "settler implantation" meets the definition of "war crime" as per international humanitarian law and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a UN human rights expert has said.

United Nations : "No comment - and don't quote me on that" (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
When a Southeast Asian ambassador hosted a lunch for journalists, including reporters from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, he told us there was an ulterior motive for the sumptuous lunch at his residence.