Trade : EU and Brazil oppose end to "green box" cotton payments (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The European Union and Brazil opposed the elimination of a range of green box direct payments for cotton as demanded by the Cotton-4 countries - Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad - in the unresolved Doha agriculture negotiations at the WTO.

Trade : Goods Council debates national security exceptions to WTO rules (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
A meeting of the WTO Goods Council on 30 June debated the issue of national security exceptions to the WTO rules, with a number of members voicing concerns over the "systemic risks" posed by the investigations initiated by the United States earlier this year into steel and aluminium imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

United Nations : Progress on world hunger has reversed (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
World hunger has increased, reversing years of progress, said a UN specialised agency.

Africa : "Address rural youth unemployment now or they will migrate" (PRIV)
(IPS, Rome)
In 2014 alone, about 11 million young Africans entered the labour market. But many see few opportunities in the agriculture sector and are constrained by a lack of skills, low wages, and limited access to land and financial services.

United Nations : Top 300 cooperatives generate $2.5 trillion in annual turnover (PRIV)
(IPS, Rome)
The top 300 cooperatives alone generate 2.5 trillion dollars in annual turnover, more than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of France, according to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

Environment : Greater Caribbean raises funds to protect its sandy coasts (PRIV)
(IPS, Havana)
Almost no Caribbean beach escapes erosion, a problem that scientific sources describe as extensive and irreversible in these ecosystems of high economic interest, that work as protective barriers for life inland.