WTO : Doha fisheries chair remains upbeat on an outcome at MC13 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The chair of the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations on 16 January issued a rather upbeat statement that the draft text that he had issued on the proposed disciplines on subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing (OCOF) that caused the global depletion of fis h stocks could form a "basis" for finalizing an outcome in the next six weeks before the World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference (MC13) gets underway in Abu Dhabi on 26 February.

UN : Risks and challenges posed by global monetary tightening (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
While inflation appears to be gradually moderating across most of the world, the aggressive monetary tightening - comprising both interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening (QT) - is c reating significant policy challenges for both developed and developing economies, a United Nations report has said.

UN : Civilian casualties mount in Ukraine, reversing a downward trend (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
At least 592 civilians were killed or injur ed in Ukraine in December 2023, constituting a 26.5 per cent increase in verified civilian casualties compared with the previous month, according to the Unit ed Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).