WTO : DG & GC chair issue SOM summary replete with discrepancies (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The World Trade Organization's Director-General and the Chair of the General Council on 28 October issued a summary of the main points covering all the issues that emerged from the Se nior Officials Meeting (SOM) held last week, but trade diplomats pointed out tha t there are apparently several discrepancies on the various mandated issues, said participants familiar with the discussions.

UN : Gender parity - rise of Denmark & downfall of Afghanistan (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The UN agency that advocates women's rights and gender empowerment has predicted that gender equality is "300 ye ars away."

Venezuela : Migration puts the brakes on vehicles (PRIV)
(IPS, Caracas)
Diego has just enrolled to study journalism at a university in the Venezuelan capital and, with 2,000 dollar s that his family members managed to gather, has bought his first car, a small 200 7 Ford that can take him to class from his home in the neighbouring Caribbean port city of La Guaira.

Africa : Climate change turns rivers into epicentres of conflict (PRIV)
(IPS, Nairobi)
Almost all major river basins in Africa have become the epicentres for conflicts over the last 20 years, and agricultura l yields on the continent could drop by up to 50 percent in the coming years owing t o the drying up of "traditional" water sources, thanks in part to effects of clim ate change and degradation of the environment, the inaugural edition of the State of A frica's Environment (SOE) Report 2023 released in Nairobi finds.