Trade: DG Azevedo convenes informal TNC, after two years (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The World Trade Organization director-general Roberto Azevedo is finally convening an informal meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee on Tuesday (25 July).

Finance: Prepare now for the next financial crisis (PRIV)
(Martin Khor, Penang)
The Asian financial crisis started 20 years ago and the global financial crisis and recession 9 years back.

East Africa: Pope Francis donates to FAO for drought, conflict-stricken region (PRIV)
(IPS, Rome)
As an unprecedented gesture, Pope Francis has donated 25,000 euro to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's efforts supporting people facing food insecurity and famine in East Africa.

Development: Parliamentarians study nexus of youth, refugees, development (PRIV)
(IPS, Amman)
Held for the first time in the Arab world, an annual meeting of Asian and Arab Parliamentarians examined how regional conflicts hinder the development of effective policies to achieve sustainable development, particularly as they generate large numbers of refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.

Europe: Lawmakers want the UN to debate a Parliamentary Assembly (PRIV)
(IPS, Berlin)
Earlier this month, the European Parliament adopted its annual recommendations on the European Union's policy at the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly that begins in September.

Costa Rica: Caribbean coast pools efforts against climate change (PRIV)
(IPS, Hone Creek)
Jonathan Barrantes walks between the rows of shoots, naming one-by-one each species in the tree nursery that he manages, in the south of Costa Rica's Caribbean coastal region.