Trade : Azevedo pushing differentiation, negotiating North's agenda for MC11 (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The World Trade Organization director-general Roberto Azevedo has told several trade envoys that differentiation among developing countries would happen in the development dossier of the unfinished Doha negotiations, trade envoys told SUNS.

United Nations : Civilian casualties in Afghan conflict at record high (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Conflict-related violence exacted a heavy toll on Afghanistan in 2016, with an overall deterioration in civilian protection and the highest number of civilian casualties recorded since 2009, a new United Nations report has said.

United Nations : US threatens to penalize allies on UN voting (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The United States and most Western donors have traditionally exercised their financial clout to threaten developing nations who refuse to fall in line on critical UN voting either in the Security Council, the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council.

Honduras : Innovative credit model holds out lifeline to farmers (PRIV)
(IPS, Paso Real)
In this village in southern Honduras, in one of the poorest parts of the country, access to credit is limited, the banking sector is not supportive of agriculture, and nature punishes with recurrent extreme droughts.

Pakistan : Reporters in the crosshairs (PRIV)
(IPS, Peshawar)
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) located on Pakistan- Afghanistan border remain one of the most perilous places in the world to be a reporter, with journalists walking a razor's edge of violence and censorship.