Trade: WTO on the brink as DG struggles to reignite reform track (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Yerevan)
Ahead of the World Trade Organization's General Council meeting on 6-7 May, the seemingly embattled WTO Director-General is struggling to come to terms with the failed WTO's 14th ministerial conference (MC14), whose outcome has all but derailed further work on "WTO reform" and other critical issues, according to people familiar with the development.

Lebanon: UN warns of surge in acute hunger amid escalation in conflict (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
Acute food insecurity is set to sharply worsen in Lebanon, with 1.24 million people - nearly one in four of the population analyzed - expected to face Crisis-level hunger or worse between April and August 2026, United Nations agencies warned on 29 April.

South Sudan: 7.8 million face acute food insecurity as hunger crisis deepens (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
South Sudan is facing one of the world's gravest hunger emergencies, with 7.8 million people - 56 percent of the population - projected to be in high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April and July 2026, United Nations agencies have warned.