WTO: US stresses "national interests" amid "topsy-Trumpy" turmoil (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Trade ministers from 21 countries voiced divergent views on 22 January regarding the major challenges facing the seemingly "ruptured" global trading system and the issues to be addressed at the upcoming World Trade Organization's 14th ministerial conference (MC14), with the United States striking a discordant note by emphasizing its "national interests."

Trade: Trump's tariff threat challenges Canada's bid to diversify trade (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canada if it proceeds with a mini trade agreement recently concluded with China, ratcheting up pressure on Ottawa to terminate the deal or face a new trade war, according to posts on his Truth Social website.

UN: $516 million urgent appeal for lifesaving aid in north-east Nigeria (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
The United Nations and its partners, together with the Government of Nigeria, are urgently appealing for $516 million to respond to the most critical needs of 2.5 million people in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States in north-east Nigeria this year, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).