Trade : Green room process on services domestic regulation (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The WTO Director-General, Roberto Azevedo, held a green room meeting Thursday (2 February) on domestic regulation in services to prepare the ground for a possible outcome in this area at the forthcoming Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires end of 2017.

United Nations : Global FDI flows fell 13% last year, bumpy recovery ahead (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows declined by 13% in 2016, to reach an estimated US$1.52 trillion, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said.

Trade : US trade hawks and the China bogey (PRIV)
(Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Kuala Lumpur)
New US President Donald Trump has long insisted that its major trading partners have been taking advantage of it.

United States : The Trump Presidency - the first week (PRIV)
(IPS, Alicante)
Attacking the Affordable Care Act; the "global gag rule" against abortion; the federal regulation and hiring freeze; cancelling the TPP; restarting the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline; limiting entry with the Mexican Wall; the 90-day travel ban on seven countries; more undocumented people prioritized for deportation; no federal funding for cities refusing to cooperate; communications blackout from federal agencies; Guantanamo torture continued - What does it add up to?

Labour : Why Kenya must create a million new jobs annually (PRIV)
(IPS, Nairobi)
Nairobi, 1 Feb (IPS/Ambassador Victor Ronneberg and Siddharth Chatterjee*) -- It is estimated that 3,000 Kenyans are born every day, a million a year. With a median age of 18 years, Kenya is witnessing a massive youth bulge, which could either be a demographic dividend, or a disaster.