WTO : US blocks South countries' demand on short extension of TRIPS decision (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The chair of the World Trade Organization's General Council, Ambassador Didier Chambovey of Switzerland, apparently declared that there is no agreement on the duration for extending the 17 December deadline as set out in paragraph eight of the MC12 Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement concerning the "production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics."

WTO : India shows "the mirror" to Singapore & WTO DG on surplus funds (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
India has apparently shown "the mirror" to Singapore and the World Trade Organization's Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that the WTO's surplus funds of CHF 6 million (more than 6 million in US dollars) from the previous year of 2021 cannot be availed of for extraneous purposes, without a comprehensive discussion.

WTO : UAE to host MC13 in February 2024, Cameroon to host MC14 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Members on 19 December adopted a proposal to host the World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the week of 26 February 2024.

Venezuela : New political agreement finally tackles social crisis (PRIV)
(IPS, Caracas)
The social crisis and humanitarian emergency in Venezuela became international headline news again once the government and the opposition, bitter adversaries for two decades, agreed to direct three billion dollars in state funds held abroad to social programs.