WTO : DG's "Plan B" MC12 deliverables in agriculture a setback for South (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The developing countries seem to have suffered their biggest setback yet in the proposed agriculture deliverables tabled by the WTO Director-General, Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the WTO's 12th ministerial conference (MC12), as she appears to have finally put paid to a decision on the permanent solution for public stockholding (PSH) programs for food security, according to the restricted documents released on 30 May.

WTO : DG's "best endeavour" decision on trade & food security for MC12 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The draft ministerial declaration on trade and food security issued by the WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 30 May contains "best endeavour" language without any binding commitments, said people familiar with the development.

WTO : DG issues "Plan B" decision on WFP food purchases for MC12 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The draft ministerial decision on "World Food Programme Food Purchases Exemption from Export Prohibitions or Restrictions" issued by the WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 30 May seems like a "mixed" decision with rather conflicting paragraphs, said people who asked not to be quoted.

UN : "Deeply troubled" by impending cuts on development aid by rich nations (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The four-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has triggered a hefty increase in military spending among Western nations and a rise in humanitarian and military assistance to the beleaguered country, is now threatening to undermine the flow of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the world's poorer nations.