WTO: GC chairs call post-MC14 May session amid textual ambiguities (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Yerevan)
The outgoing and incoming chairpersons of the World Trade Organization's General Council (GC) on 23 April urged member states to focus "work at the May General Council meeting on how to proceed in follow-up to Yaounde" - a reference to the WTO's 14th ministerial conference (MC14), which failed to produce any outcome except a chair's summary, according to people familiar with the development.

Trade: Trump warns of naval action against Iran as Hormuz crisis spirals (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Yerevan)
United States President Donald Trump on 23 April appeared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening that the US Navy would "shoot and kill" any Iranian small boat found laying mines in the Strait - amid growing concerns that the confrontation could further irreparably damage the global economy.

Rights: World Cup visitors to US at risk of "serious harm", warn CSOs (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
More than 120 United States-based civil society organizations (CSOs) on 23 April issued a joint travel advisory warning that fans, players, journalists, and other visitors to the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup in June could be exposed to a "deteriorating human rights" environment in the US that could put people in host cites at grave risk.