Trade: DG Azevedo needs to come clean on his meeting with USTR (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The World Trade Organization's Director-General Roberto Azevedo needs to come clean about his meeting with the United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer early this month during which the USTR served notice about the changes the Trump administration wants to see in the Dispute Settlement Body, according to people familiar with the development.

Rights: EU needs to do more work on human rights impact of sanctions (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
While commending the institutions of the European Union for their gradual achievements in the field of safeguards and remedies over sanctions, these steps need to be further reinforced, a United Nations human rights expert has said.

United Nations: "Big reflection" needed on opioid crisis (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Opioids are among the most devastating drugs and are creating a crisis of epidemic proportions, said the UN drug agency.

United Nations: Response teams underfunded as costs hit $23.5 billion (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
UN response teams that help the most vulnerable people in the world are still largely underfunded, a new status report has revealed.

Africa: No wall for Ethiopia, rather an open door - even for its enemy (PRIV)
(IPS, Adinbried)
It's one thing to read about the exodus of souls flowing out of Eritrea, it's quite another to look into the tired eyes, surrounded by dust and grime, of a 14-year-old Eritrean girl who's just arrived on the Ethiopian side of the shared border.