Trade : WTO Secretariat reforms proposed & implemented by McKinsey & Co (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Several WTO members appear to be concerned about the price, in financial and systemic terms, of the proposed reforms of the WTO Secretariat based on a McKinsey & Co report, and apparently being implemented by the same corporate outfit.

UN : A world of 8 billion, but only a few are seen as human beings (PRIV)
(IPS, Madrid)
Far-right Brazilian president, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, was quoted a year ago or so as saying to a small group of indigenous people that they "now look a bit more like humans."

Finance : Aid for power in new Cold War (PRIV)
(IPS, Sydney/Kuala Lumpur)
Sydney/Kuala Lumpur, 12 Jul (IPS/Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram*) -- Long a means for powerful nations to influence developing countries, development finance has gained renewed significance in the new Cold War.